Strong Destiny, Weak Heart
by JanetChibiMoon
Summary: Love has always been a no brainer for Serena and Darien, but what happens when she has to wait to be in love? Was he just a schoolgirl crush, or are they really destined for each other?
1. Chapter 1 The Breakup

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**The Breakup**

**Disclaimer:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**A/N: Reviews are always encouraged.**

**Chapter 1**

Darien and Serena were in a stalemate. She was starry eyed and drooling over the new dentist that came into town. If she'd known he was so hunky, she wouldn't have put up such a fight with Darien to go for her toothache. As soon as she saw him, she had hearts in her eyes, and his beautiful assistant didn't escape Darien's sights either. As soon as Serena noticed him looking at her, she was asking Darien what he was looking at, pulling his arm toward her, and telling him he didn't love her. He was really getting tired of her childish games, he wished she'd just grow up already.

While he waited for her in the Dentist's office waiting room, he made a decision. He would break up with her, and she would be free to do what she wants, for four years. If she chose to return to him after that, she'd have to learn that looking at other women, doesn't mean he lusts after them like she did with men. The time would do her good, and she would get it all out of her system and appreciate what she had, or so he thought.

When she came out of the office, she was all smiles about her toothache being gone, and going on about how gentle he had been with her. Darien hated how she couldn't realize how inappropriate it was for her to go on and on about another guy, especially to him. "Serena, do you wanna go to the park?"

"Sure!" She said, as she clung to his arm. The whole way there, she was going on and on about everything that was going on in her life. Her bad grades, how Rei always seemed mad at her, and how no one ever wants to listen to her side of the story. Darien couldn't even pretend to know what she was saying, he was so lost in his own thoughts. Once seated on the park bench, he was afraid of her reaction to his offer. Was it a really an offer? Was he giving her a choice? No, this wasn't an offer, this was more of an ultimatum. Either, she would wait four years, or they wouldn't be together at all.

"Serena, I have something to tell you." He cut her off from her ramblings, and she stopped short.

"What's wrong Darien? Are you okay?" She looked at him concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just that...well...I love you Serena."

"I love you too, Darien."

"Yes, well, I don't think you're ready for our relationship yet, you're still so young..." He looked away, toward the green grass and roses surrounding the water fountain in front of them. He was lost in its beauty for a moment, while he let his comment sink in.

"But, Darien, I know what I want, and it's you. You're all I want for the rest of my life. My age shouldn't matter once my heart has spoken, did my dad talk to you? Don't let him scare you, he's just a big teddy bear."

"No Serena, this has nothing to do with your father, it's just that, I have more experience than you do..."

"What do you mean by that?" She eyed him with a narrow gaze.

"Nothing really, I just don't want to steal your 'fun years' from you. This is the time in your life where you have fun, joke around and be happy. Our relationship is just so serious, it's not like you, at least not yet."

"You don't think I take our relationship seriously?" Now she was insulted and started whining and tearing up.

"No, it just that" He was getting frustrated, he decided to just say it. "I think we should wait till you're 18. Four years isn't that long, and I think we'll both be better for it."

"You're breaking up with me? Again!"

"Please, don't think of it like that. It's not like that, it's more of a break. I promise I won't see anyone else. I love you and you're the only one I want, and I'm willing to wait for you."

"I don't want anyone else either! Why are you doing this? Did you have another dream about the future?" She stopped whining and just had concern in her eyes, and tears down her cheeks.

"I'm not saying you will find someone else, but with school, the scouts, tutors, and detention, I don't really think you have as much time for me as you think you do."

"Are you saying I'm neglecting you?" She really couldn't figure it out, she just felt so sad and heartbroken. She wished she could go back in time, before the date, back to thinking she was going to have a wonderful day with the man she loved.

"No, it's not that...*sigh*...I just think you need time. I can't really explain it, but I think we'd both be happier if you just got to be a kid for a few more years."

"I don't want to be a kid. I want to be whatever fits into your world."

"But that's just it! I don't want you to change, I want you to live. You shouldn't try to fit into my world, you should just do what makes you happy."

"You ARE what makes me happy." She was looking at the ground.

"Yeah, and is this a perfect example of that happiness?" He was angry at himself, but more so with her stubbornness. "I love you, I always will. I'm not saying we're not going to be together again, it's just-"

"What about Rini? Is that why you want to wait? All you want me for is her?" She covered her mouth immediately. Darien was speechless, he couldn't believe she would say that about their daughter, or himself. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"I know" he finally said, after the shock wore off "but that doesn't change the fact that you just proved my point. You're so afraid of something taking me away, why? Are you that unsure about my commitment to you?"

"No, maybe, I don't know, I'm not sure how I feel."

"And that's why we need this. I want to prove my commitment to you, to us. If you want to date, I won't stop you. I really want you to be happy, and I want YOU to be sure that I am the man that would move heaven and Earth for that to happen. I sort of want you to date, so you can see how truly committed to you I am. How much I love you."

She pondered what he was saying for a moment. He never said he didn't love her, like he had before. She couldn't figure it out, why had he decided this? "Darien, what's in it for you?" She looked up at him with tears still in her eyes, as her sadness showed.

"You." He stated simply.

"You have me. Why these games?"

"No, I don't want the worried Serena that is so afraid of any woman just sweeping me away from her, I want the strong, confident Serena that knows even if I was surrounded by women on an island, she'd just think, 'eh, he'll find a way out.'"

"So you want to be on an island full of women?" he sighed again, wondering if she'd ever understand. He hated seeing her cry, and to be the cause just made it so much worse.

"That's not what I meant. Look, it's more of a challenge. I challenge you to find a guy better for you than I am. You have four years to do it, if you can't, I guess you're stuck with me." He smiled at her lovingly.

"I guess I understand, but I don't like it."

"I know I'm kind of forcing you into this, but I know it will help our relationship in the long run."

"Okay." She finally agreed, still unhappy about his decision. 'Fine, if he wants it to be a challenge, I'll show him how serious I can be. I'll search all of Tokyo if I have to!' She was thinking out of hurt and anger, she felt like this deal was meant to make her betray her heart, and she hated the feeling. Darien moved closer to her, and held her.

"It's okay, it's not like we're over. We both know we still love each other, it's not the end of 'us'. I promise."

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Chapter 2 The Depression

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**The Depression**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"I know I'm kind of forcing you into this, but I know it will help our relationship in the long run."

"Okay." She finally agreed, still unhappy about his decision. 'Fine, if he wants it to be a challenge, I'll show him how serious I can be. I'll search all of Tokyo if I have to!' She was thinking out of hurt and anger, she felt like this deal was meant to make her betray her heart, and she hated the feeling. Darien moved closer to her, and held her.

"It's okay, it's not like we're over. We both know we still love each other, it's not the end of 'us'. I promise.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 2**

Once she got back home, she hurried to her bathroom to wash her tear streaked face from her family. "Serena, you ran back in so quickly! Are you alright? Are you running late to Rei's again?" Ikuko said, yelling through the bathroom door, knowing her daughter would hear.

"Yeah mom! I'm fine! I'm headed to Rei's, I just came to change my clothes." Serena said, as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were very red, and her sadness showed. She couldn't let her mother see her like this, she'd have to avoid her for a while, to avoid worrying her. She felt like her heart was shattered into a million pieces, and decided to stay at home. "Mom, I just remembered Rei said she was sick today so our study group is canceled!"

"Well you should probably study in your room then, you don't want to fail another test!" Ikuko said as she walked back downstairs. Serena sighed at hearing her mother's comment. She knew what the future held, why was everyone always getting on her case about everything she did? Apparently she couldn't do anything right. She hurried to her room once she heard her mother descend the stairs. Serena thought about all the things she didn't like, and felt like she couldn't control, going on around her. Her frequent fights with Rei, being leader of the Sailor Scouts, being IN the Sailor Scouts in general was a high one on her list, always having detention for being late, and most of all, no one ever seemed to have any faith in her. That one hurt her the most. She opened her school book, and just stared at the pages. She had picked a book at random, and it turned out to be math. She closed the book after a hard glance, and laid down on her bed. She couldn't get Darien out of her head, four years seemed so long for her. "Serena, I'm making dinner!" She realized she had fallen asleep. Her cheeks were freshly wet, she'd been crying in her sleep.

"I'm not hungry, thanks though." Less than a second later, her mother was at her door knocking.

"Serena, are you all right?" Ikuko gently opened the door, and saw her daughter on her bed with tears on her pillow and across her cheeks. She moved to the side of the bed and sat with her daughter. "What's wrong?"

"Oh mom..." Serena sat up and threw herself into her mother's embrace. "Darien broke up with me, again."

"What? Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. What happened?"

"I don't know. He said he didn't want to take away my 'fun years' and wanted me to be sure that he was the one I want."

"But I thought you said he broke up with you?"

"It felt like a break up. He said he doesn't want to start our relationship until I'm 18."

"Oh Serena, I'm sorry, but I have to tell you darling " she held up her daughters face to look her in the eye, " I don't blame him. I think that's a good idea. Your relationship with him was so advanced, and you're so young-"

"You too? I love him, why won't you guys believe me?"

"Love is a very strong word, and I know he cares about you very deeply. Just give it time Serena, I'm sure you two will figure it out, if it's meant to be, it will be." Her mother gave her another gentle hug, and left the room for her daughter to 'grieve' her relationship in peace.

"But we've been together for centuries..." Serena whispered as her tears started anew. She had a feeling someone from the scouts, if not all of them, would come to check on her soon. She wasn't sure what she wanted to tell them. Was she being too emotional? He really didn't break up with her... but what else was she supposed to do? It almost physically hurt for her to be away from him, she longed for him so much. "How could anyone think what I feel isn't love for Darien?" She whispered as she clutched her chest.

Downstairs, Ikuko opened the door after the doorbell had rung. "Oh, Rei. Hello, I'm surprised to see you here, I thought you were sick, and your study group was canceled. Hello girls." She noticed the rest of the girls behind Rei. From what Ikuko could see, Rei bolted ahead of the others to get a good scream at Serena in. Sometimes she wondered how Serena could call Rei her 'friend'.

"Hello Mrs. Tsukino. As you can see I'm fine, I'm sure Serena has a good reason for lying..." Rei knew she was probably right, but she hoped she wasn't so she had another reason to yell at her.

"Yes, I know why she did it, I just didn't realize it was a lie in the first place." She said, biting her nails and hoping Serena wouldn't dwell on it. 'That girl is just so emotional, her feelings rule her spirit. She's taking this way harder than it need be...'

"Wait, so you're okay with Serena lying to you?" The other girls were catching the conversation and were listening intently.

"Well, yes. In this instance, I was your age too once ladies, I know how it feels to have a broken heart." She smiled softly at the young ladies.

"Broken heart...?" Mina and Lita looked at each other. Rei didn't take her eyes of Ikuko, Ami was trying to figure out what might have happened this time.

"You girls didn't know? Oh dear, I hope Serena won't be upset..."

"Um, Mrs. Tsukino, would you please explain? I'm sure Serena will tell us, but we'd rather be a little prepared for what she's going to say, as to not upset her with anything that we shouldn't say."

"Oh, yes, that's a good idea Ami. Apparently, Darien has decided that Serena needs to live out her youth. He said they can start their relationship when she turns 18. To be honest, I'm sure her father will be a little relieved, as am I, but the poor girl takes things so hard." She started biting her nails again.

"Don't worry Mrs. Tsukino, we'll talk to her."

"That would be great Mina, thank you ladies. Go on up, she's in her room of course." Ikuko stepped away from the door and let the girls in. They walked past her and went to Serena's room slowly, even Rei wasn't in a hurry, trying to think of how to react to what Mrs. Tsukino said.

'What the hell is his reason for doing this? Geez Darien, it's always something isn't it?' Rei thought, her anger now being directed toward the cause of Serena's absence.

Serena heard a soft knock on her door as the girls walked in, "Serena?" Mina asked as she slowly opened the door. Serena bolted up from her sitting position, wiping her face, hoping Rei wouldn't catch her crying. Rei saw her, and felt really bad for making her feel that she had to hide her emotions from her. She usually just cried for no reason, crybaby Serena, but this...this was heartache, almost impossible to hide, and cut very deep.

"Hey girls..*sniffle* what's up?" She put up a fake smile and closed her eyes so the red didn't show in her eyes.

"Serena, are you okay?" Mina asked as she sat next to her on the bed. Serena couldn't hold it in, Mina was nothing but caring, and if anyone could understand her pain, it was her.

"Oh Mina!" She sobbed as she threw herself on top of her friend, "I know I'm probably overreacting, since I guess technically he didn't really break up with me-"

"I don't understand though" Mina cut her off, "what was his explanation for waiting until you're 18 before you guys can be in a relationship?"

"Well, I guess he's saying I don't trust him enough, and he wants to prove how much he cares." She said, as she wiped her nose with a tissue off her bed stand. She left the tips in her nose.

"Serena that's gross!" Rei couldn't help it, as soon as she saw Serena do it, it slipped out. Serena just brought the fire out of her, even when she was trying to reign it in.

"Don't yell at me Rei!" Serena whined as she threw herself back on her bed, face down on the pillow. Rei just looked at Lita, and put her head down. Lita smiled at the fact that, no matter how upset Serena was, their relationship seemed to always be the same.

"Well don't be gross." Rei said with her head drooped.

"So he was specific enough to tell you when you will be more trusting? Why four years?" Ami said from near the doorway. She had been pondering everything since she heard it, and everything anyone said, was helping the puzzle.

"Well, I guess he thinks that's how long it takes to have a strong relationship. Or a real one." She said, throwing away the tissue in her nose, and getting new ones to stick in there.

"But your relationship was 'real'. I don't understand." Ami said, trying to figure out what Darien could have meant by this.

"No, not my relationship with Darien, me with someone else." Serena said. Since she yelled at Rei, she had stopped crying. Something about Rei always made her a little tougher. She stuck her tongue out at Rei with the new tissues in her nose. Rei just looked away, trying her damnedest to keep herself in check.

"Wait, WHAT?" Rei faced Serena in shock. "He wants you to date another guy?" All the girls were in shock at the revelation.

"I guess, he wants me to date a bunch of guys I think, but he said he won't date anyone else. He says it's to prove his loyalty to me and to prove that I won't find a better man for myself than him, but I already know that, that's why I love him." The girls all just looked stunned. They looked at each other, not being able to absorb what she had just said.

"Why the hell would he do that?" Lita said, suddenly furious. "Is he that high and mighty that he thinks no guy is as good as he is?" Her anger slowly rubbed off on all the scouts. They huddled by the door away from Serena. "Okay, if he wants her to find a better man, why don't we all 'help' her?" Lita said, an evil grin on her face.

"Sounds like a plan." Mina said, equally satisfied with the decision.

"I don't know, maybe we shouldn't meddle..." Ami didn't want to have anything to do with the whole situation.

"Fine Ami, if you don't want to be involved, you can sit this one out. I'm sure the three of us can handle this." Mina said, still grinning.

"Actually guys, I'm kind of torn as well," Rei said, unsure what to think about the whole thing. "Serena is childish...and she can really get on my nerves, maybe you guys aren't seeing what he sees."

"You're siding with him?" Mina said in amazement.

"I guess we shouldn't be surprised, now she can have another go at him, and she has four years to do it!" Lita said, suddenly furious at their 'friend'.

"No! How can you say that Lita? It's just that I can see how Serena needs to 'grow up' a little before she can be in a relationship that spans centuries! I'm thinking of her best interests!"

"Whatever, Mina and I know enough guys, you can sit it out too." Lita glared at her, then they got out of the huddle, and Lita turned her attention to Serena. "Serena, what do you want to do?" They all saw that she had fallen asleep, softly mumbling Darien's name. They all left quietly, Ami and Rei really torn on what the 'right thing to do' would really be.

Serena was absent from school and didn't show up to the temple for two weeks. She was REALLY hurt. She couldn't stop thinking about him, and when she did, she cried all over again. Mina and Lita took that time to scout around for a new man for her. Rei was constantly thinking about what Lita had said. Did she really think she had a chance with Darien? If Serena really did move on, maybe he could too. She mentally scolded herself for having the thought, when she knew Serena was in her room crying for weeks. She decided to wait it out, if Serena really could move on, it was going to be game on.

**To Be Continued...**

**Special Thanks/Mention:** xx Twilight Princess xx, SailorMoonAddict, and Princess Moonie of the Moon


	3. Chapter 3 Freedom vs Heartache

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Chapter 3**

**Freedom Vs. Heartache**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

Serena was absent from school and didn't show up to the temple for two weeks. She was REALLY hurt. She couldn't stop thinking about him, and when she did, she cried all over again. Mina and Lita took that time to scout around for a new man for her. Rei was constantly thinking about what Lita had said. Did she really think she had a chance with Darien? If Serena really did move on, maybe he could too. She mentally scolded herself for having the thought, when she knew Serena was in her room crying for weeks. She decided to wait it out, if Serena really could move on, it was going to be game on.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 3**

Darien was in his apartment reading a medical journal when his thoughts wandered toward Serena. 'I wonder what she's doing?' He had been to the arcade every day to run into her like old times, but she hadn't been there. He checked all the buffets and snack stands he could find, but he couldn't find her anywhere. After 3 days, he gave up and focused on things he had to get done, 'no need getting space from someone if I try to hunt her down.' he was trying to remind himself. After a week, he was ahead in his college courses, and worked overtime at the hospital every chance he got to fill in his time. He had never realized just how much time he had set aside for her, he was beginning to see just how lonely his life really was without her.

Rei couldn't believe Serena still wasn't going to the scout meetings, it had been a full 14 days since 'the incident' and she was still moping? She decided to go see Darien, but she wouldn't dare go alone after what Lita said. She called Ami and asked her to go with her, "Sure, let me just finish this last page of homework and I'll head right over." Rei was anxious, as soon as Ami got there they headed straight to Darien's apartment. "Rei, what made you want to go over so bad?" Ami was glad she didn't go alone, but she didn't think Rei would go over with ill intentions while Serena was still so miserable.

"Well, the way Serena's acting, I really want to know both sides at this point. I'm glad you were torn about them too, I don't think Lita or Mina would have wanted to come with me without yelling at him...or maybe punching him." She thought of Lita throwing a fist as soon as he opened the door.

"I'm not torn, I just don't want to get involved. The future isn't set in stone you know, the Dark Moon Kingdom proved that when they came through time, I just don't want something I do to mess up such a bright future."

"Yeah, yeah. I just want to get to the bottom of things." Rei said, knocking on Darien's door.

Darien put his medical journal down and went to get the door. "Rei, Ami! Come in, come in. Do you guys want anything?" He pushed them toward the couch and hurried toward the kitchen. The girls just looked at each other, surprised by Darien's attitude and actions.

"What's gotten into you?" Rei said suddenly.

"Huh? Nothing, just glad to see you guys, how about some tea and cookies?" Rei suddenly felt VERY strange, she didn't like it. She knew she was looking too into the meaning of what he said, but she couldn't help but feel special when he said it. Darien was putting some cookies in the oven and boiling some water before he sat down on his recliner, facing the girls on his couch.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Um, Darien, this isn't just a social call. I was wondering, what did you say to Serena?" She started blushing after she said it.

"Huh? Didn't she tell you? Speaking of her, would you mind telling me how she is first?"

"Oh, um, we haven't seen her."

"Really? Has she been avoiding you?"

"No, she's just been home. She's real upset about what happened, in fact, that's why we're here. From what she did tell us, I think she's overreacting."

"Well Serena is overly sensitive..."

"And loud, and a crybaby, and childish-" Rei cut in.

"And our leader, and friend, not to mention our princess and future queen." Ami reminded her.

"I know Ami. I'm just saying, right now she's still a child!"

"Oh, and you're an adult? We are all the same age you know." Rei began to blush, she couldn't believe what Ami was saying in front of Darien.

"That's not what I said, but I've never met anyone else our age who acts like she does." Darien nodded in agreement.

"I know what you mean." Rei refocused on why she was there.

"So would you mind telling us what you said?" She said, hoping Ami wouldn't embarrass her anymore if they got what they came for and left.

"Not at all. I just told her I didn't think she was ready for our relationship, because she's still so young, and we were very serious. She's not the serious type, not yet anyway. I told her it was more of a break or challenge."

"Challenge?" Ami asked, wanting the details of the 'wager'. Rei was beside herself, she couldn't believe that Serena was telling the truth about the challenge.

"Yes, I told her to try and find a better man for herself, date around for four years."

"And you would be..." Ami said, since it didn't seem like he was going to head in that direction.

"Busy."

"Meaning..."

"I have college, work, and there's always Andrew for me to talk to."

"Yes, but what about dating wise?" Ami pried.

"None for me. I'm just going to wait for her, she's the only one I want."

"Why now? Why so suddenly?"

"Well, you could just say I'd had enough."

"..."

"Okay, here's the deal. I'm just fed up with the way she treats me. She goes gaga over any guy that's half decent, complete with drool and starry eyes, even if I'm standing right next to her. However if I simply NOTICE another woman, she flips out and goes into crazy psychotic mode. She says things like I don't love her, or maybe I'd rather be with someone else, when that's not the case at all. For instance a month ago we went to her favorite candy store, and there was a new guy working the register. Right there, in the middle of the store, SECONDS after clinging to my arm, she starts staring at him screeching 'what a hunk!' I'm guessing the guy got uncomfortable cause he went into the back room and a woman came out. She was probably ten years older than me, but that didn't matter to Serena. She saw me LOOK over, I was just checking to see if anyone was at the register, and she flipped out, pulled me out of the store and said she never wanted me to go there again. When I asked her why, she said she didn't want me to make goo goo eyes at my 'girlfriend' at the register! It's like that all the time! Anywhere we go if we're not alone! It's not that I don't love her and want to be with her, I just want her to realize how much I love her, and hopefully, she gets whatever she thinks she's missing out of her system." He got up to check on the cookies and make the girls some tea.

"So you really want her to meet someone else?" Rei asked.

"No, of course not, why? Do you think she will?"

"Not at this rate." Rei said, remembering when she saw Serena in her room crying.

"Okay, after hearing this, I couldn't agree with you more Darien. If she's this upset over you telling her you guys weren't over, but simply on 'pause' mode and it's affecting her this much, it can't be healthy." Ami said, suddenly surprised at Serena's attitude toward her relationship.

"But I just want her to be happy, I hope she's not crying. I never meant to hurt her. Honestly, I think she'll be happier once she stops thinking of this as a breakup." Darien said as he handed them their tea and a small plate of cookies.

"Well if she's not out in the real world by now, believe me, she will be tomorrow. She's had more than enough time to grieve a breakup, and this isn't even one!" Rei said, suddenly more angry with Serena than she's ever been. They both ate the cookies and sipped their tea.

"So what did you mean by getting something 'out of her system'?" Ami asked as she put her tea down for a moment, while grabbing another cookie.

"I don't know, but it seems to me, if I'm not enough for her, she must think she's missing something. I'm not going to take her youth away from her, I had my fun and experiences when I was her age. Why would I want to take that away from her?" Rei felt her heart beat faster and realized she was feeling more attracted to him.

"Fun and experiences?" Ami asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Yeah, the excitement of dating, crushes, seeing someone you really like, and finding out they don't think you're half bad either."

"But I thought you said you didn't want her to date anyone else."

"I don't, but I really am in no position to stop her. I figured it'd just be easier for both of us with my permission, plus, when we get back together, I'm sure she'll stop her weird 'I'm attracted to every guy' phase.

"But what if she does date, or you see her with someone else? Four years is enough time for a lot of things to happen..." Ami was pondering the possibilities.

"I didn't really think it though. I'm sort of taking it one day at a time, but I feel sorry for the guy who I see her with."

"Why?" Rei asked.

"Because not only will they be intimidated by me, but now that I think about it, I'll probably end up threatening guys to stay away from her behind her back." He smiled at the idea, pleased she wouldn't find anyone that he couldn't put in their rightful place.

"If you say so...we should get going. We're going to check on Serena and head to the temple for training." Ami said, putting her tea and empty plate of cookies down. Rei followed suit, half-hoping he was wrong, and Serena would find someone else.

"Oh, I see. Well feel free to stop by more often, and bring Serena sometime, when she finally gets used to the idea. Just because we're not dating, doesn't mean we can't still all hang out. Hell even if just one of you wants to stop by, that would be okay." Darien's loneliness was getting the better of him. He really wanted them to stay, but he knew they were busy and had plans. Rei felt herself blush at the thought of her coming over by herself. She quickly walked out the door waving a hand at Darien, Ami behind her.

"Um, we'll think about that. Bye Darien, thanks for the tea and cookies." Ami said as she closed the door to his apartment, and left him holding the empty tea cups and cookie plates.

"What was that?" Ami asked when they reached the sidewalk.

"What do you mean?" Rei asked, feeling her cheeks turning red.

"Him, Darien. He seems so lonely without her, I'm sure that's why he invited us to come over more often, although I don't think Lita or Mina would be up to it right now." Rei was relieved, and refocused on her anger toward Serena and the way she was acting.

"Well Serena needs a reality check! We're going over there right now, c'mon Ami." She said, grabbing Ami's arm and dragging her along.

Serena was lost in her thoughts yet again. Laying in bed, asking her mother if lunch was ready. "Serena, you've moped long enough. Just so you know, you ARE going to school tomorrow so I hope you have been getting some studying done."

"But mom!"

"No buts Serena! The only reason you stayed home so long was because you took advantage of the fact that I was on that retreat with your father and Sammy for the past two weeks! I had hoped you would have used better judgment and would do what you have to, but your school called today and said you've been missing since last Monday! I'm very disappointed in you. Not to mention all the snacks are missing, have you even eaten a real meal!"

"But mom, I'm heartbroken!"

"No you're not! You're being immature! Serena, even I can see that boy loves you more than you give him credit for. You'll be fine, you're lucky I'm not skinning you alive, but you are grounded for two months, the girls are just going to have to study without you, or come over here to study!" Serena knew her mother was very angry, but she thought her mother would understand if she didn't go to school for a while. It just added to her suspicion that people thought she was overreacting. If her mom was this angry, then she must have thought she would be over her 'slump' by now. She did feel better, the more she thought about the arrangement, the more she realized it suited her. After all, wasn't she attracted to the men she saw in different places? Or did she just think they were attractive, without really wanting to date them? Now was her chance to find out, and she was excited. After all, Darien promised he'd still be there, this would be the best deal she'd ever get, and she still was up for that challenge.

Lita and Mina arrived shortly later, and saw Serena was doing just fine. "Serena, why haven't you been in school?" Mina said, finding it odd she didn't go when she looked this 'recovered'.

"To be honest, I took advantage of everyone leaving me alone. My mom was at a retreat with my dad and Sammy for the last two weeks, and I never turned my alarm on while they were gone..."

"It's been two weeks? Man, time flies when you don't expect it!" Lita said, thinking how her and Mina have been using up all their free time searching for suitors for her, they lost count of the days, it felt like it had only been a few days.

"Well, Lita and I have a few guys we'd like you to meet."

"I'm not interested."

"What? Why not?"

"Because, I want to find my OWN dates. I don't want to be set up!"

"Well, I guess that makes sense. But man, does that mean we can have those hunks to ourselves then?" Lita thought, hopefully.

"I don't see why not," Mina replied. "awesome, I picked out some nice ones too!"

Just then, Ami and Rei showed up. "What is this, some kind of party?" Rei asked, when she saw all the girls there.

"Yeah Rei, and you're not invited!" Serena said, sticking her tongue out at her.

"Oh grow up Serena! You'd better go to school tomorrow!"

"For your information I am! My mom is back from her retreat and forcing me to go."

"So you didn't go to school because your mom wasn't here? What the hell Serena! What about our scout meetings! There's no reason you needed to skip those!"

"I didn't want to go! I hate scout meetings, they're more like 'yell at Serena' meetings!"

"You meatball brained whiner!" Rei said, as she stormed out of the room, more furious with Serena than she thought she'd ever been. She decided to just go home.

"Serena, would you like a hand studying today? " Ami said, looking through Serena's book bag.

"Sure Ami, I'd love that, seeing how I'm going to have to make up quite a few tests. Thank you so much!"

"Well, I guess we'll leave you guys to it. We've got some guys to meet." Lita said with a wink.

"Bye Serena, see you tomorrow." Mina said with a smile, and they left Ami and Serena to their studying.

Serena's two months of grounding went by very slowly for her. Rei insisted that the meetings be held at the temple because Serena's house had three other people in it, and anyone could accidently overhear. Plus, they had room to train on the temple grounds, without being seen. Rei also found the time to convince the other Scouts that Serena was being unreasonable, and Darien's offer wasn't bad at all. Once everything was settled, they decided to include him in the scout meetings, until Serena came back, then she'd have to decide if he could stay. While training with the scouts, Darien realized how tough their training actually was, and he couldn't picture Serena keeping up with them. "Wow, do you guys hold back when Serena's around?"

"Not at all, in fact we all attack her." Ami answered, since this time they were off in pairs and Darien was just watching their practice and informing them of weaknesses in their defense, that he could see.

"Yeah, she must really need all that sugar she eats, cause she always uses it to run away from us. She never really attacks us though, she mostly just dodges, every once and a while she'll use something to protect herself, like her crystal or scepter. But that's usually cause Rei blasts too many Fireballs at her." Mina said, smiling at the thought Serena might be gaining weight since she wasn't training.

"She has to be prepared for anything!" Rei said defensively.

"Even so, it's not like any of us have even landed a hit on her once yet." Lita said, almost upset by the fact.

"Wow." Was all Darien could say, he was very surprised at the fact she did so well when she trained. But that did explain why she was always able to dodge attacks from any foe.

"How about we all attack you Darien? Or would you rather challenge us one at a time?" Rei said, anxious to test herself.

"Um, let's start with one at a time. I don't exactly have anyone to train with on a regular basis."

"Okay, I'll go first." Rei said, as she hurled a fireball at him, he easily avoided it by spinning his cane and it dissipated. All the girls noticed she was holding back, her fireballs toward Serena were much faster and hotter. She fired one after the other, in different directions. He avoided them easily, either by jumping away, or hitting them away. When the next fireball came, he threw a rose through it, and they canceled each other out. Realizing she couldn't get a good fireball at him, she began to charge at him. The two began to spar, and they could see Rei seemed to just want to get close to him, she wasn't giving it her all.

"Alright, alright, looks like you guys are pretty even, my turn." Mina said, anxious to separate them, before Lita decided to. They each took turns against him and realized he wasn't that strong. In the end, they all decided it best if they trained him too. And he was much more eager than Serena ever was, not to mention he fought back, defensively of course, but he didn't just dodge all the time. Since Ami was more brains then brawn, they decided that he should train with her, and if and when he could finally beat her, he'd move on to other scouts.

The girls kept busy, but did visit Serena when they could, during her grounding. When it was finally over, she went straight to the arcade after school. While there, she found a flier for speed dating, she didn't even notice when Andrew walked up to her. "Someone dropped those off not too long ago, I guess the new hotel has a banquet room and they want a lot of people to see it."

"Oh, I was just wondering if I should try it." Andrew smiled, thinking she was joking.

"Um, I'm pretty sure you have to be 18 and over."

"Of course..." Serena said, as she put her head down.

"Why so glum, did you and Darien get into a fight or something?"

"Kind of. We're on a break till I turn 18."

"Really? That's odd."

"Tell me about it."

"So are you serious about dating around?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, he told me to, so I might as well take advantage of it, right?" She knew her heart wouldn't be in it, but she didn't care. He did say for her to have fun, after all.

"Oh, wow. Darien told you to? Geez, he must be crazy, I know at least ten guys that want to go out with you."

"Please." Serena said doubtfully.

"No really, this is an arcade Serena, boys come in here all the time and see you playing the Sailor V game. You don't escape their attention, believe me. You may ignore them, but they sure don't ignore you."

"Wow, I never knew."

"Yeah, several guys always come up to me and ask me about you. I just tell them you're seeing Darien, and they back off."

"Well don't say that anymore! It's time Darien learned what letting me go means!" She said, with renewed vigor for the challenge.

"Oh...okay...if that's what you want..." Andrew said, suddenly unsure if he said the right thing. Darien was his best friend, was he betraying him by helping Serena?

"Yes, it's what I want." She stated with firmness. "Well, I better enjoy my freedom and walk around the district for a while, I've also been grounded for the past two months."

"That explains why you haven't been around." Andrew smiled at her, and waived as she left.

"Lockdown is the worst!" She said as she waived back to Andrew and left. As she walked down the shopping district, she noticed several shops she never noticed before. One of which was a video game store, and she saw the Sailor V game poster in the window. She ran in, hoping to find the game on sale. When she found the worker, she noticed he wasn't bad looking. He couldn't be more than 16, with red hair, light skin, red eyes, and very muscular. 'Not too muscular though,' She thought to herself, as she gave him the once over, 'just the right amount'. She didn't realize she was drooling until another customer was tapping her shoulder.

"Miss, you've got something on your face." She snapped back into reality and wiped her mouth, laughing like a hyena. She straightened out and headed over to him to ask about the game, the good thing was he was busy pricing and putting more posters up, so he didn't see her make a fool of herself.

"Hey, do you guys really have the new Sailor V game?" She asked in excitement.

"Actually, if you read the poster, it says when it's coming out. But you can pre-order it here, and reserve your copy of the game so it won't be sold out before you can get it."

"Really?" She said, with stars in her eyes.

"Yeah, all you have to pay is the five dollar down payment. The rest of the price of the game is due when you pick it up, or you can pay it all now and pick it up when it comes out. Or you can make payments until it comes out, then just pay the remaining balance when it comes out."

"Hmmmmm" She pondered the idea. "I'll do it. I don't remember seeing your store here, did you guys just open?"

"Well, yeah. We've been open for about a month now, but I've seen you before. Aren't you the girl who always plays Sailor V in the arcade? You're dating that guy, Darien, right?" Serena blushed, did this mean he's asked Andrew about her? She was excited to test out the theory, and Darien's deal.

"I used to, we broke up."

"Oh, sorry to hear that." He said, with sympathy for her.

"Don't be, we didn't have that much in common, and we are much better friends." She lied, hoping it would be true when she saw him next. She read the guy's nametag when she got a chance and noticed it also said 'manager' on it. 'Reagan, hmmmmm. I wonder where he's from. I better ask him next time, or I'll be late to the meeting' she thought to herself. She paid her down payment, and headed toward Rei's temple. She skipped to Rei's thinking about Reagan and if he was interested in her...because she was certainly interested in him.

**To Be Continued...**

**Special Thanks/Mention: **xx Twilight Princess xx, Jovian Sun, Krystle Santana, SailorMoonAddict, Cassie Garcia and TropicalRemix for their reviews!


	4. Chapter 4 Reality Hits Home

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Chapter 4**

**Reality Hits Home**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"Don't be, we didn't have that much in common, and we are much better friends." She lied, hoping it would be true when she saw him next. She read the guy's nametag when she got a chance and noticed it also said 'manager' on it. 'Reagan, hmmmmm. I wonder where he's from. I better ask him next time, or I'll be late to the meeting' she thought to herself. She paid her down payment, and headed toward Rei's temple. She skipped to Rei's thinking about Reagan and if he was interested in her...because she was certainly interested in him.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 4**

"Serena! You're late again!" Sailor Mars said, with fire in her eyes, "You have no excuse, we started without you! Hurry up and transform!"

"I'm really sorry guys, I just got distracted with...Darien?" She saw him standing next to Sailor Jupiter, but instead of wearing his Tuxedo Mask costume, he was wearing his Prince Endymion armor, and fighting with a sword. He put his sword down and looked at Serena with loving and longing eyes, he had no idea he'd miss her this much. Had it really only been two months? And he expected to last four years? Well, maybe it would be better if he just saw her more often, his eyes longed for her beauty. Rei saw the way he was looking at her and her heart went out to him, 'why can't she just grow up?' she thought to herself.

Serena blushed, and was happy she didn't finish her sentence since she was going to say 'a real hunk!' "Hey Serena, how are you? I heard you've been grounded." Darien said, not taking his eyes off of her.

"Yeah, today is my first day of freedom in a long time." She said, noticing how handsome he looked in his armor. It really did suit him. "Why are you wearing your armor instead of being Tuxedo Mask?"

"I'll answer that," Ami said, stepping toward Serena, "With you gone, we were evenly distributed in pairs, but then we realized Darien could be much more of an asset then just saving you all the time, risking his life as well, since he hasn't had anyone to really train with, we decided to ask him to join in on our training sessions. As it turned out, his cane and roses aren't as effective as his sword fighting skills are. However, he still has the power of his rose and seems to pull them out from his cape, it's like his cape just makes them appear out of thin air. Now his skill matches Lita's when it comes to hand to hand. He improves a lot every day. He's an anxious learner." She finished, beginning to blush at the fact she had been talking about him for so long.

"Yeah Meatball Head! If you'd been here on time, you would have been here for us to ask if he could still join in on our training sessions! But now it doesn't matter cause you were late and now you're out voted!" Rei said, glad there was nothing she could do to prevent Darien from staying.

"Why would I be against it? Now we all have someone to train with." She said, determined to sound more mature, and happy to spend at least an hour every day with him. Her heart rejoiced at the thought.

"What? But Serena you hate training." Lita said, still breathing heavily from her spar with Darien.

"No, I just wasn't able to train properly since we were never an even number." She said, blushing and trying to defend herself. "Darien, you can already spar with Lita? You're that good at hand to hand combat?"

"I honestly don't deserve all the credit, Ami has been researching my abilities on her computer, and apparently there's some power there that I have yet to tap into. I have no idea what it does or how to use it, but it's supposed to be similar to your abilities, something I can control at will, if I learn what it is and how to use it.

"And that's another reason he has to stay." Rei said, looking at Ami, hoping she'd find out what his power is soon.

"Rei, I didn't say I wanted him to leave! That is really cool though, if he has powers like us! I wonder what power he'd have?" Serena pondered while thinking of all the things he was always able to make her feel.

"Enough chit chat, let's get back to sparring!" Lita said, ready for another round with Darien.

"Right" Darien said, as he took his fighting stance. Ami and Mina have been training, so it looks like it's me and you Meatball Head."

"Rei, stop calling me that! I only allow..." She stopped short and looked in Darien's direction, he was fully concentrated on the match. Rei felt really bad for making her think about what she couldn't have right now.

"Sorry Serena, I won't call you that again." She said, with pity in her eyes. Serena just smiled at her, in understanding.

"Thank you." She said as she transformed for practice, "Now prepare to be dusted!" Everyone's training resumed. Darien's goal was to tire himself out enough to not think about her, but now that she was back, seeing her fragile form once again, he wanted to train harder than ever, to protect her from anything.

After practice Darien went home, he had an evening class that night, and had to work early in the morning at the hospital the following day. The girls all went to the Malt shop as a reward for their hard work. "So Serena, you never did tell us, why were you late today?" Mina asked, knowing her never finishing her story meant that it had something to do with another guy.

"Oh, I, um, found a video game store that was selling the new Sailor V game."

"What? It's not supposed to be out for another month!" Mina cried, anxious to find out where this store was.

"No, they don't have it yet. I guess it's just available for pre-order."

"Oh, is that all?"

"Yeah, well, I didn't know what that meant so I had the guy that was working explain it to me."

"Guy? Was he cute?" Mina said, her interest suddenly piqued again.

Serena began to blush," well he wasn't bad looking..." she remembered his soft face and red hair, the perfect complement to his pale skin.

"Serena, you have stars in your eyes, and you're drooling, you're daydreaming about him aren't you?" Rei said, disapproving. Now she saw firsthand what Darien was talking about. Serena shook her head to erase her thoughts, and wiped her mouth, while laughing like a hyena.

"Oh Rei, I was not!" She said, blushing at being caught.

"Please!" She said, upset at her immaturity.

"So what if I was? I'm a free woman, to date or drool over whoever I want remember?"

"Do you really think Darien will be okay with that?" Rei said, in his defense.

"So what if he's not? I'm giving him what he wants, time." Serena said, going back to her milkshake.

"I don't think HE wants time, I think he wants YOU to have time." Ami spoke up.

"I don't' know what that means!" Serena said, suddenly stunned that Ami was talking about the situation.

"Never mind, forget I said anything." Ami said, and began to blush.

"She means you have been unfair to Darien!" Rei said, leaning over the table looking down at Serena.

"What? What did I do? He wants a break from me!" Serena screamed back.

"You are so dense! Did you see yourself just now? When you were daydreaming about another man? Yeah, Darien really seems like the love of your life! You constantly gawk at other guys, swoon over them even!" Rei was beginning to see she was walking on thin ice, but she couldn't stop herself. "You treat Darien so horribly when he is so good to you! Can't you just commit to him like a real girlfriend should? Or are you too young and immature to get that you should only be attracted to ONE guy if you are really in love with him?" Rei was steaming with anger, everyone was looking at their table, and the rest of the girls were blushing, waiving their hands trying to distract the patrons from looking at the scene playing out in front of them. Serena's eyes began to water as truth was beginning to sink in. She remembered the customer at the game store telling her she had something on her face, and thought back on all the times she drooled over guys while she was with Darien. "You are a horrible girlfriend!" Rei finished as she sat back down.

"But, just because I'm attracted to other guys, doesn't mean I don't love Darien." She whispered, trying to defend herself.

"That's true," Ami was explaining, "however a normal reaction would be to notice someone else, or blush, maybe even stare. However, Serena, I hate to say it but, drooling, and a love sick starry eyed look, aren't a part of that." Ami said, glad that Serena was noticing what was wrong, but sorry that she had to be told in this way. Everyone realized this was the only way she'd understand what she was doing, like a slap in the face. But they all felt bad it had to be done in the first place.

"I, I'm going home." She said, as she ran out crying.

"Serena wait!" Lita called after her, Mina reached out to her, but she was already gone before either could stop her.

"Let her go, she has a lot to think about." Rei said, unsure what her words would do to the fragile emotional girl.

Serena ran straight home, thinking about everything that had been said the whole way. "Hi mom, I already had dinner at Rei's and then I had a malt, so I'll be in my room if you need me." She ran so quick and got all of it out before her mother got a chance to see her.

"Oh...okay...welcome home." Ikuko said, as she felt the breeze that Serena had created zip past the kitchen.

Once she was in her room she began to wonder what was wrong with her. Why did other guys always seem to get her attention? Was it immaturity or something else? Could it really be that she didn't love Darien as much as she thought she did? Did he really love her that much more than she loved him? She finally saw the point of the 'break'. She did have things to get out of her system, she wasn't ready for her relationship, she wasn't being fair to him at all. He deserved much better, she always believed that. Now she just had the proof.

She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she owed it to Darien to find someone else. Date around, like he had said. Find whatever it was she was looking for that pulled her attention away from him. With her mind made up, she decided to start her 'dating journey' early the next day.

Meanwhile, after Darien left the training session, he began to wonder if he did the right thing. Was she really that bad? Did it matter how she acted around other men? She was his, after all. No matter how many men she stared at, he knew he had her heart, and would never hurt him. He was unsure of what to make of his feelings when he saw her. Love, caring, want, passion, he could feel them all bubble up inside him when he saw her standing there. What would happen if she found another man? Would he really be able to take seeing her with someone else? He knew the answer, never. But what else could he do? Go crawling back to her after only a few months? Why not? He knew the answer, even though he knew her heart was his, she needed to realize that. Otherwise the insecurities would only get worse, but could he live up to his side of the bargain? Should he? If she found someone else, did he really have to stand by and wait for that relationship to be over? 'Jealousy works both ways' he reminded himself. 'If she does find someone else, which I doubt, I'll have to remind her where her heart lies.' He thought as he started his shift at the hospital. He didn't remember anything from his class, and couldn't sleep thinking about the whole thing. He found himself still thinking about it at work.

Serena decided that if her feelings were wavering that much, she owed it to herself, and to Darien to find out what the big deal was with dating another guy. Maybe then, and only then, would all these insecurities and distrust would go away. Her naturally sweet demeanor and caring heart drew in many suitors that she wasn't even aware of, and so she decided to go to the arcade tomorrow and talk to Andrew.

Early the next morning, she found herself awake, and in plenty of time for school. For some reason she was also able to focus on her schoolwork. She didn't feel very stressed at all, she was more concerned about being mature, and her brain needed the most work. The school day went by very fast since she was actually paying attention to what she was doing. She headed straight to the arcade after school, and up to Andrew. "Hey Andrew, can we talk when you get a minute?" She spoke softly as to not draw attention to their conversation.

"Sure Serena, what's on your mind?" He asked, leaning against the counter toward her.

"Well, I was just wondering if you knew the names and ages of the guys that have asked about me, are there any here right now?" She asked as she searched the arcade from out of the corner of her eyes.

"Well, yeah, a few of them are here. There's Paul he's 14, Tom 16, Ken 17, and Jeff is 16 ..." He pointed to each one while covering where he was pointing with his other hand from the people around. "Like I said Serena, there's a lot, but not all of them are here right now, some have jobs and school. How did you get here so fast anyway?"

"I didn't get detention today, and rushed over as soon as the bell rung." She explained to Andrew.

"Oh, good for you! Being late isn't exactly a good thing." He said, happy she was trying to fix her bad habit.

"Yeah, tell me about it." She said, while trying to see what the guys looked like, that asked about her. Paul looked her age, which was not her type at all, she wanted an older guy. Someone to give Darien some competition. Tom was okay, except he seemed kind of hairy, again not her type. Ken looked interesting enough to give a shot to. "Okay, what's the deal with Ken, he's the taller one of them right? With straight black hair that's spiked up?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't recommend him for you Serena." He said upset that she chose the worst in the bunch.

"Why not?" Serena asked as she looked in his direction.

"Because, he's got a kid, and he's not too nice to his girlfriend. They always are off and on, and I don't think you want to be involved in that type of thing." He said, hoping he'd convinced her to let him go.

"Oh, I see." She was a bit disappointed, but still had hope. "How about Jeff? He's the one that's a little shorter right? But he seems like he's real serious."

"Well, I haven't heard anything bad about him, if you want to ask him out." Andrew said casually.

"What? I'm not going to ask him out!" Serena said, suddenly embarrassed.

"Why not?"

"Because...because...that's not my style I guess. I'm old fashioned! He has to ask me!"

"Well he has to find out your single first, and since you aren't wearing a ring in the first place, he's not going to know unless you tell him."

"Unless..." a plan formed in her head and she started wailing right there in the arcade. "I CAN'T BELIEVE DARIEN BROKE UP WITH ME!" She screamed, tears beginning to form in her eyes. She caught Andrew completely off guard, trying to comfort her, and calm her at the same time.

"What are you doing!" He whispered harshly while she had her head down and wailed.

"I thought this would be the easiest, fastest way for all of them to know, plus the rumor mill will spread a lot faster this way." She said, smiling under her arm. A sweat drop formed on Andrew's face, he wasn't sure what he got himself into, but it couldn't be good. And he still hadn't been able to talk to Darien, he hoped he'd run into him soon. Andrew saw that she was right though, as all the guys were already talking about it.

"Serena, I'm not sure if that was such a good idea. Not all these guys are good people..." Andrew began to think of how Darien would skin him if he let anything happen to her. He sighed, defeated, "where are you going next? I'll take my break and walk you there."

"Oh Andrew, that's not necessary!" She said, waving at him with her hand.

"Yes it is, you may not be together, but I know Darien, and he'd have my head if I let anything happen to you." He said, knowing it was true.

"I'll be fine Andrew, but if you insist, I won't stop you." She winked at him, knowing her plan for the arcade patrons worked. By tomorrow all the guys would know, and all she'd have to do is wait for one to ask her out. "I'm going to the new game store that just opened up, then to Rei's temple."

"I better take my lunch break when you leave then."

"No need, you could just walk me to the game store. It's right by the bus stop anyway, I'll be fine."

"Okay." Andrew said, still unsure if he should leave her alone on the bus, but he couldn't leave work just to babysit either. He thought about having his sister Elizabeth bring him some food from her malt shop on his break, so he wouldn't have to waste time going somewhere.

"Let's go now so you can get it out of the way." Serena said, getting up, going back to her cheery self. Everyone was talking about that too.

"Serena, aren't you supposed to be upset?" Andrew whispered.

"Oh yeah!" she put her head down quickly, and started sniffling. Once they left the arcade she put her head back up and acted fine. She saw that Reagan was working again and quickly asked Andrew, "Has he ever been to the arcade and asked about me?" Andrew looked at the man and grew cautious.

"You're not going to cause a scene again are you?"

"No, no, I told him yesterday that we broke up."

"Okay, if you say so. Yes, he is one of the guys." He said, feeling worse and worse for Darien. "I'm sorry Serena, I can't help you anymore. It doesn't feel right, I feel like I'm betraying Darien."

"Okay, okay, it's fine. You've helped me enough. Thank you Andrew. I'll be fine, you can go back to work now." She said, and entered the game store. Andrew just stood there, staring at her back.

'What did I do? I hope I didn't do something that I'll regret already.' Andrew thought to himself as he saw her interact with the man in the store. 'Darien, I hope you know what you're doing...' He said as he walked back to work.

**To Be Continued...**

**Special Thanks/Mention:** **: **xx Twilight Princess xx, Princess Moonie of the Moon


	5. Chapter 5 The Search

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Chapter 5**

**The Search**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"Okay, okay, it's fine. You've helped me enough. Thank you Andrew. I'll be fine, you can go back to work now." She said, and entered the game store. Andrew just stood there, staring at her back.

'What did I do? I hope I didn't do something that I'll regret already.' Andrew thought to himself as he saw her interact with the man in the store. 'Darien, I hope you know what you're doing...' He said as he walked back to work.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 5**

As soon as Serena walked into the store, she walked straight up to Reagan. "Hi, I'm back to make another payment." She said happily.

"Already replaced your boyfriend?" Reagan said, nodding at Andrew outside.

"Andrew? No, no. He's just a long time friend. He's actually engaged, he's been my friend for a few years." She explained.

"Oh, I see." Reagan said, as he continued to stack some games from boxes. "Let me just finish this stack and I'll ring you up. Although, you can wait in line and Minoru would be happy to help you." She sighed at the thought, but didn't want to be obvious.

"Okay, sure." She continued to the line and waited. She noticed there were three people working in the store, instead of two, like there were yesterday. Regan finished quickly and came to the register.

"Next!" He called as he opened the register at the other side of the counter. Serena was confused, she was the next person in line, but if he was going to help her, she could have waited next to him...

"Hey, I got you anyway." She giggled.

"Yeah, I guess you did. So all you want to do is make a payment today?"

"Well, yeah, I don't get much money from my allowance as it is." She blushed at the confession.

"Okay, not a problem, just wanted to be sure. Would you like to sign up for a card for our store? When you buy nine games, you get the tenth one free."

"Really? Sure, as long as it doesn't expire. I don't know how long it will take me to buy nine games."

"It does, " he leaned in close to Serena and whispered, "but I'll make an exception for you if it does, I am manager after all." and he winked at her. She blushed.

"Okay, thanks. Where do I sign up?" She asked, searching around for a form for the program. He reached behind the counter and handed her the form. She noticed it asked for her name, phone number and address. 'I wonder if he can use this information for personal use...' She suddenly had an idea. She filled out all the information, but wrote some gibberish for her e-mail. "Oops, I wrote my old e-mail, can I have another form please?"

"Sure, no problem." Reagan said, and handed her another form.

"Thanks, you can have this one...to throw away I mean." But the way she said it, she obviously wanted him to keep it.

"Okay." He said, as he placed the form under the desk. She couldn't be sure if he threw it away or not. She decided to head to Rei's temple before she made a fool of herself.

"Here you go, all finished. That's everything I had to fill out right?" She said, noticing he put his hand over hers when taking the form from her hand.

"Um, yeah, that's about it." He said, checking her work.

"Well, see you tomorrow Reagan." She waived as she walked out the door.

"Bye Serena." She stopped in her tracks and she began to blush. He knew her name! He had to of read it from the card, but she didn't care. He found out her name on his own, he did care, to some extent! Then she ran off toward the bus stop. When she got there she saw Darien driving up to the curb.

"Hey Serena, want a lift to the temple? I was just heading there, I'm surprised you're here already, you usually have detention."

"Um, sure. I was early today so I didn't get detention." She said as she got into the car.

"Really? Wow." He said as they drove off toward the temple.

"Don't sound so impressed!" She said, feeling insulted that Darien was so shocked.

"I'm sorry, I just can't picture you getting up early, especially for school."

"Well, Ami was helping me with my homework all last night, every night, since I've been grounded, so I figured I might as well get some use out of what I've learned." She said, realizing how easy it was when she was really paying attention, and trying.

"Everyone wants to help you, including me. Even if we're not together right now Serena, that doesn't mean we can't be friends." He said, glancing at her direction.

"I'd like that very much." She said, as she twirled her hair in her fingers and began to blush.

"That's great. You can come over any time, or we can hang out, whatever you want, when you want."

"But Darien, doesn't that just make it like we're together? What's the point of even being on this break?"

"You're right. Maybe I regret forcing you into it..." He didn't look away from the road, he didn't want to see her reaction. "Maybe I'm realizing I made a mistake." He heard her gasp softly.

"Darien, I thought you were making a mistake too. But then I realized something that I'd thought about since we got back together before Rini popped into our lives, I haven't been fair to you. I don't deserve you."

"That's not true! It's me who made the mistake, not you."

"Darien, I know why you wanted the break, I realize what I've been doing now, and you were right. I do need time. Time to think about what I really want, and yes, time to grow up. I need to give you the attention you deserve, and if I can't, maybe you should find someone who can..." She trailed off, Darien was in shock, he didn't know what to say. Finally he found the words.

"Are you saying you want ME to find someone else?"

"Maybe, I don't know." She said, looking out the window.

"So you really are going to date around, aren't you?" She turned back around to face him.

"Wasn't that the point? Wasn't the whole reason for this break to figure out why I wasn't giving you all of me? Why I was always so easily distracted by other men?"

"Yes, I guess it was, I guess I just never thought you'd do it. I really can't picture myself with anyone else but you, I thought you felt the same, I guess I was wrong."

"That's not necessarily true, it's just that..."She didn't know how to word her emotions..."I care too much about you to not give you all of me. I'm sorry Darien, you may have started this journey, but I have to finish it." He couldn't believe what she was saying, he was too late to retract the offer of the agreement. He felt anger and regret boil within him. They said nothing for the rest of the car ride, when they arrived he kept the car running. She opened the door and got out, and realized he was still holding the steering wheel, turning his knuckles white with the tight grip he had on it.

"Darien? Aren't you coming?" She asked before she closed the door.

"Not today, I just remembered something I have to do." He didn't turn to face her, he couldn't.

"Oh, okay. I'll let the scouts know. Bye." She gently shut the door, and he sped off leaving her in a cloud of smoke. She slowly turned back to the temple steps, and walked up to tell the other scouts Darien wouldn't be there today.

Darien drove straight to the arcade, he wanted to talk to someone, and Andrew was the only person he trusted. "Darien, hey, didn't expect to see you. You've been real scarce lately."

"Hey Andrew, yeah, sorry about that. What have you been up to?" Darien's expression gave away his feelings, even though he was trying to hide them. He sat by the counter, on the same stool Serena always sat in when she spoke to Andrew.

"Same old, same old really. Except for...introducing Serena to a few people..." He waited for Darien's reaction, Andrew knew his mood had something to do with Serena.

"I see. Do you know who she's been getting along with?" Andrew knew what he meant immediately.

"Well, she's only met like five people. She hasn't even really met them, but she did cause quite a scene earlier, to get the word out. Darien, what happened?" He finally decided to ask. Darien explained everything that had happened, including the challenge.

"Are you serious? Darien, you know how many guys are attracted to her, why would you make her a challenge like that?" Andrew was stunned at what he had heard.

"I don't know, I guess I was hoping she realized she wasn't really attracted to any other guy, the same way no other woman could make me feel the same way she does."

"But you know how naive she is! You had to see this backfiring!"

"At the time? No, I didn't. It just hurts sometimes, she's my whole world, and I'm just a speck in hers. I don't deserve her anyway Andrew. I really do wish her happiness, I just wish it was with me."

"Man, Darien..."

"Listen, just do me a favor and write down the name of any and all guys you see her talking to, and if they seem to have a hidden agenda, make sure you let me know. I won't let anything happen to her, no matter what."

"If you say so."

"I do. Thanks Andrew, you're a great friend. I'm going home, I have a lot to think about."

"Okay, later Darien." With that, Darien left the Arcade and headed home.

Back at the temple, Serena told all the scouts that Darien wasn't going to show up today. "Why not? Serena, what happened? What did you do?" Rei said, really surprised he didn't show up.

"Well, he said he wanted us to get back together, and I told him he was right for doing what he did, and I wasn't ready for our relationship."

"You actually said that! But Serena, I thought all you wanted the whole time was to go back the way things were?" Mina said, confused about Serena's emotions as ever.

"I did, but I can't be unfair to him Mina. I want to give him all of me, not just a piece. He deserves more than that. But I did tell him he should date too."

"You what?" Lita said, completely shocked.

"I don't want him to just wait around for something that may never happen!"

"What do you mean something that may never happen?" Ami asked, surprised Serena seemed like she thought her decision through.

"I let everyone at the arcade know I'm single now. I've always said I want to be a regular teenager, now there's nothing stopping me from the dating part of that experience."

"But you'd really be okay with Darien dating someone else?" Rei said, imagining how saddened Darien must have felt at the news.

"I guess I'll only find out when he actually does, won't I?" Serena answered, pondering the possibilities of her decision.

"Well, no use wasting any more time. Let's get back to training." Ami said. She worked on her computer, while the scouts trained in pairs. She was studying Darien's information that she had gathered, and trying to see what powers he may really have.

The next day, Serena kept up going to school on time. She was dedicated on turning a new leaf, she didn't want another guy thinking she was a ditz when she had this opportunity to start fresh. After school, she went straight to the arcade again. Sure enough, every few minutes, it seemed like another guy was asking her for her number.

Darien was in the training sessions every day again after he missed just the one day. He thought seeing her every day was the best he could do for now. He was also anxious to see what abilities he had. Ami had finally had a breakthrough. She started experiments with everything she could think of, every element. Then she realized he was more of the opposite of the scouts in various ways. He more fought with his sword than powers, he threw roses, countering abilities defensively, instead of really attacking. The fact that he was always trying to help, and studying to be a doctor, all factors in Ami's calculations. She decided to test her theory. She asked Rei to allow herself to get hurt by Mina's attack, get wounded physically.

"Why me?" Rei had asked Ami when she had privately asked Rei to do it.

"Because Serena wouldn't be able to handle it, and complain if we hurt her, but we haven't been able to hit her anyway, so it'd be obvious. Plus Darien needs to really have a connection because he's never known his abilities, so to bring it out for the first time, there has to be some type of bond."

"Bond? What bond?"

"You guys used to date, and you care for each other, on some kind of level. He wouldn't want to see you hurt Rei." Rei began to blush, but she trusted Ami's genius.

"Okay." She said reluctantly. She really was hoping Darien did have some kind of power, and not just really good looking. 'Although learning quickly could be his power', she thought. As per Ami's suggestion, she let Mina's love chain cut her arm during training. Everyone rushed over to Rei, Mina apologized franticly.

"I was going full force, I've never been able to hit you before, I thought you'd be able to dodge! I'm so sorry Rei!" She was trying to defend herself.

"Mina, how could you be so mean!" Serena shouted. She was bouncing up and down, unsure how she could help.

"No, it's okay, it just hurts like hell!" Rei said, trying to smile through the pain. She had a big gash on her arm.

"Let's get some bandages out here now!" Darien said, concerned with stopping the bleeding." Lita ran into the temple for the first aid kit.

"Darien, put your hand over her arm, take off your glove. Let the warmth of your hand help her blood to clot the wound." Darien did as Ami instructed, he was surprised at her level headedness even though her friend was hurt and bleeding profusely. "Focus on helping her!" Ami shouted at Darien, hoping he could heal her subconsciously. "He concentrated on her wound, wondering if he should really have his hand on her arm, without cleaning the wound first. He saw his hand covered in blood, but it was drying, he took it as a good sign. By the time Lita got there with the first aid kit, Darien removed his hand to find nothing there. The wound completely healed, the only evidence of its existence, her bloody arm, and his bloody hand.

"What happened?" He asked Ami shocked.

"You healed her." Ami replied calmly. She was very happy she was right. "I think we found your power Darien."

"What? Really?" Darien said, staring at his bloody hand in disbelief.

"Yes. It makes perfect sense, Serena can heal emotional or spiritual damage, while you can heal physical damage. You are a perfect complement to each other. Serena and Darien just looked at each other, then turned away.

"I'm glad you found your power Darien." She said, looking up at him and blushing.

"Yeah, I am too." He said, still shocked at his ability. "So I guess now you can start training me on how to use it, huh Ami?" He asked, turning in her direction.

"Yes, of course." She said, as she typed in the results of her test.

For the next few weeks, Serena went on numerous dates after training, but not many guys got more than one date. They were either too cheap, turned off by her eating habits, or unimpressed by her conservativeness. Serena was happy she was getting rid of so many suitors so fast, she was really learning how special of a guy Darien really was. She was still going to the game store every day, to make a payment, but Reagan never seemed to make a move. Finally the new Sailor V video came out, and Serena had already paid it off. But she was also afraid she wouldn't have an excuse to see Reagan anymore. She pondered what to do, but she couldn't figure out a way to keep seeing him. He probably wasn't interested in her like she thought. After she bought the game, she wasn't sure what to say to him, she didn't want to leave, but she no longer had an excuse to stay.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around Reagan." She waved as she walked out the door.

"Until the next Sailor V game I suppose Serena." He smiled and waved back. She went to Rei's, torn. Happy about the new game, but sad she wouldn't see him again for a while. Darien had been able to learn how to heal at will, but he still wasn't able to heal too serious of wounds, since they didn't want to test his limits by seriously injuring someone. For now, after training, he was able to heal each scout after training so they were no longer fatigued or tired. Knowing injuries would help Darien's abilities, the scouts where training harder than ever, no longer caring to hold back on each other. They were at their peak of skills. After practice, Serena went home and played her Sailor V game. She had an hour until her planned study time with Ami.

"Serena, phone!" Her mother called from downstairs.

"Okay!" She ran down to answer. "Hello?"

"Hello, Serena?"

"Yes."

"Um, it's Reagan. I hope you don't mind, but I used your card to get your number."

"Oh, um, no. I don't mind at all. What's up?"

"Well, I was just wondering...do you want to go out sometime?"

**To Be Continued...**

**Special Thanks/Mention: **xx Twilight Princess xx, loveinthebattlefield


	6. Chapter 6 Most Guys Are A Dime A Dozen

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Chapter 6**

**Most guys are a dime a dozen**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"Serena, phone!" Her mother called from downstairs.

"Okay!" She ran down to answer. "Hello?"

"Hello, Serena?"

"Yes."

"Um, it's Reagan. I hope you don't mind, but I used your card to get your number."

"Oh, um, no. I don't mind at all. What's up?"

"Well, I was just wondering...do you want to go out sometime?"

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 6**

Serena's heart stopped for a moment. She had hoped that this would happen, but now that it did, she was caught completely off guard. When she heard there was a call for her, she thought it would be Ami saying she wouldn't be able to make it. When she heard a man's voice on the line, she thought it would be another guy from the arcade. Now that she knew it was Reagan, everything changed, she was suddenly nervous and anxious at the same time.

"Hello? Serena?" She didn't realize she hadn't said anything.

"Um, yeah, I'm here, sorry."

"So, would you be interested?" He sounded discouraged after her silence. "You can say no, it would be fine, I won't bother you again."

"No, no, no. It's fine. I mean...yes, I'd love to go out with you Reagan."

"Really? I'm not pressuring you or anything?"

"Not at all. To be honest, I was hoping you'd call."

"I see. Well, how about tomorrow then? It's my day off."

"That sounds wonderful." She was beginning to blush, and was glad the conversation was on the phone, and not in person. "What time?"

"Is six okay?"

" Seven would be better..." She was thinking about training, afterward she'd have Ami come straight over. She'd be showered, changed and ready by then.

"Okay, seven it is, see you then."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye." After she hung up, she began to squeal with joy, and ran back up to her room to the game.

"Thank you Sailor V game!" She said as she hugged and snuggled with the cartridge. She was so busy thinking about where he would take her, what she would wear, and what they would talk about, that she didn't even notice the time.

"Serena, Ami is here!" Her mother screamed up the stairs.

"Okay!" Serena yelled back before running down the stairs. She grabbed Ami's hand, and ran back up to her room, locking the door behind her.

"What's going on Serena?" Ami asked, wondering why Serena seemed so anxious to study today.

"Oh Ami, you'll never guess who just called me!" Serena squealed as soon as she had the door locked, and still faced it.

"Who?" Ami asked, realizing her true reason for rushing upstairs, Thinking she should have suspected something like this.

"Reagan!"

"Is that another guy from the arcade, or the boy from the game store?"

"Ami, keep up! It's the guy from the game store!" Serena said anxiously, wondering how Ami could forget such a thing, but remember many complex equations at the drop of a hat. "I've been hoping he'd ask me out, and now he finally has! I'm so excited!"

"Serena, shouldn't we be studying?" Ami said, clearly not amused by the events.

"Why aren't you more excited for me Ami, I've been waiting for this guy for a long time!"

"Not as long as you've waited for Darien..." Ami whispered.

"What was that Ami?" Serena said, clearly not happy Ami had mumbled something under her breath.

"Nothing." Ami replied, blushing.

"Hmmmmph." Serena said, pulling out her school books.

"Serena, I hope you don't let this guy make you lose focus on your school work. I'm sorry I'm not more excited, but you've been dating a lot lately, who's to say this guy is any different from the many guys you've already gone out with?"

"He is Ami, I just know he is."

"If you say so, now let's get started, please try to focus, you've been doing so well without guys on the brain, don't go back to your old habits. Remember, you don't want anyone thinking you're a ditz anymore."

"Yeah Ami, I remember." She said, trying to put the date out of her mind for now. Not an easy task when all she could think about was his muscular build and beautiful face, but she made the effort none the less.

The next day, she again found it difficult to focus on school, but with much more effort, she was able to persevere and not flunk another test. She went straight to Rei's instead of the Arcade or anything, and tried to get training out of the way early. She hoped if she started early, no one would mind if she left early. After all, all they cared about is if she put in effort, right?

After the morning shift at the hospital, Darien went over to see Andrew, and talk to him before heading to the temple for training. "Hey Andrew." Darien greeted as he walked in.

"Hey Darien, how's it going?"

"It's been alright, do you have anything for me?" Darien asked, looking around the room to see if he could spot anyone that Serena may have been interested in.

"Yeah, well, a little."

"I'll take what I can get." Darien said, ready for some bad news.

"Well, she's been on quite a few dates with a lot of the guys here, but it doesn't seem like anyone asks her out for a second date." Darien smiled at the information, since he knew Serena wouldn't be as loose as to do anything on a first date. She was one of the most conservative women he knew. "But I hear the guy from the new game store was planning on asking her out, and from what I've heard, he's liked her for a while, just never had the nerve to ask her out."

"Hmmm, so why is he suddenly going to ask her out now?"

"Probably because he knows she's not going to be coming in every day anymore. Not since the game she was paying off finally came out, she has no reason to."

"I see." Darien said, not pleased with the information. If he took this long to ask her out, he might be just as conservative as Serena. "What does this guy look like?" Andrew pulled out his notes, ready for such a question.

"He's shorter than you by a few inches, but still well over Serena by at least half a foot. He's got red hair, and red eyes, kind of muscular, with no tan. He looks about 16, his name is Reagan and he's the manager of the game store. His dad owns the place, and he works there with his brother, but it's a franchised company. " He then closed his notebook, and looked at Darien."What are you planning to do?" He asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"What can I do? I'm just going to have to wait it out, and hope Serena isn't as interested in him as he is in her." Andrew bit his lip.

"What?"

"Um, I kinda think she already is..." Andrew said, trying to spare Darien's feelings.

"How do you know that?"

"Cause I walked her there one day, and she told me she had already told him you guys broke up. It was before she told anyone else. Also, the way she looked at him when she walked in the store, I could tell she liked him... It's the same look she always gives you when you walk into a room, or at least used to." He said, waiting for Darien's reaction.

"I see." Darien said, not happy at the news. "Well, then I guess I'll have to check this guy out for myself. Where did you say the place he worked was?"

"Just around the corner, at the shopping district, the new place that opened up a few months ago. Oh and Darien, don't do anything stupid!" Andrew shouted to Darien's back as he walked out the arcade.

"Yeah, yeah, I just want to talk to him." He said as the door swung closed behind him. He easily found the new game store and walked in. He looked around for anyone that fit the description that Andrew had given him, but he only saw a man that looked 50, and a boy that couldn't be more than 14.

"Can I help you?" The older man said with a smile.

"Oh, I was just looking for Reagan."

"Well today is his day off, but I'm sure we could help you with anything you're interested in."

"Oh, uh, actually I just wanted to ask him his opinion about a video game, so that's okay. Thanks anyway, sorry." Darien rushed out so the man couldn't ask him any more questions. Knowing today was his day off, he figured Serena and Reagan probably had a date tonight, if he'd gotten the courage to ask her. He planned on making training count today, as he headed to Rei's temple, with nothing else to do.

Serena got to the temple even before Rei. 'I guess that's what I get for coming straight after school.' she told herself, as she seated herself on the top step and decided on starting her homework, knowing time would be short tonight because of her date. A bonus would be if Ami went easy on her because she made the effort.

"Hey Serena, aren't you here a little early?" Darien's voice startled her, as she saw him walking up the steps with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, um, I planned on leaving a bit early, but I didn't count on Rei not being here yet." Serena said, unsure if she should give him details or not.

"Leaving early? What for?" He asked, already knowing the answer, but he wanted to hear it from her.

"Oh, well because I have a date." She decided not to lie, she didn't want to hurt him, but if he found out later, and it wasn't from her, she reasoned it would have been much worse.

"I see. May I ask who with?" His smile faded at the fact that she wasn't even attempting to spare his feelings.

"Yeah, um, a guy I met at the game store. His name is Reagan." She was unsure if it was wise to tell Darien the guys name and where she met him.

"Oh, well, I hope you have a good time." His smile was back, and she didn't like it. It felt fake, unreal.

"Thanks Darien." She said, hoping she didn't hurt him too bad.

"What are you guys doing here so early?" Rei asked as she reached the temple stairs, and saw Serena and Darien, talking at the top of them.

"Well, I got here cause I had nothing else to do, but Serena's here cause she wanted to get it out of the way because she has a date tonight." Darien said, without pausing.

"Oh." Was all Rei said, but inside she was worried about how it affected Darien.

"Well, if you guys don't want to waste any time, we could start training now. The others can join in when they get here. I guess we can make it me against you Darien, so Serena doesn't get hurt."

"It's okay, I'll be fine-" Serena started to say, but was cut off.

"Fine by me, let's start Rei." Darien and Rei transformed and got straight to it, not thinking twice about Serena.

"Why am I even here?" She said to herself out loud, as she pulled out her schoolbooks once more. When she looked up, she noticed Darien wasn't fighting his hardest against Rei, he was going easy on her. It didn't make any sense to her, since he was now able to heal any wounds. Now that she was paying attention, she noticed they were both going easy on each other, they were more dancing then training. She was getting annoyed and yet she had no idea why. They were merely training in an odd way, but to Serena, something just didn't feel right. She hoped the others would get here soon.

**To Be Continued...**

**Special Thanks/Mention: **xx Twilight Princess xx, loveinthebattlefield, and Princess Moonie of the moon


	7. Chapter 7 Dating Life

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Dating Life**

**Chapter 7**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"Why am I even here?" She said to herself out loud, as she pulled out her schoolbooks once more. When she looked up, she noticed Darien wasn't fighting his hardest against Rei, he was going easy on her. It didn't make any sense to her, since he was now able to heal any wounds. Now that she was paying attention, she noticed they were both going easy on each other, they were more dancing then training. She was getting annoyed and yet she had no idea why. They were merely training in an odd way, but to Serena, something just didn't feel right. She hoped the others would get there soon.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 7**

"Hey Serena, wow you're here early!" Lita said, with Mina and Ami on either side of her, walking up the temple steps.

"I'm glad you guys are here, Rei and Darien are sparring right now." Serena said, looking toward the temple grounds.

"If we'd have known you were coming straight here, we could have come with you, you know? You just always go to the arcade first, usually anyway." Ami said, wondering why she took off on her own without waiting for them.

"You're right, I guess I just didn't think of it." Serena said, blushing at the realization.

"Serena, were you working on homework while waiting here?" Mina said, looking at her open books on top of the steps, in shock.

"Well gee Mina, you don't have to look so surprised! I've been doing well in school lately! Just ask Ami!"

"It's true, she's been really concentrating on her studies as of late. Since she's able to have a fresh start, she doesn't want anyone she dates to think she's a ditz anymore." Ami said, trying to explain. They heard Rei land a hit on Darien when Ami finished her sentence.

"Darien, what's wrong?" Rei said, upset he was losing focus.

"Nothing, c'mon, again. Don't hold back." He said to her, wanting to block out the conversation he was overhearing. The last thing he wanted to hear was how he didn't believe in her mental abilities. He felt like such a jerk, knowing he never thought much of her as an intellectual.

"Ami's right, there's more to me than I ever gave myself credit for. Since I haven't been distracted lately, I've been doing so well in school. It really is a good feeling to not be last on the board." Serena said, looking toward the sky, wondering why she ever side-tracked her education in the first place. At the time, she never could realize why she'd lose focus on her studies, they just seemed difficult. Now, her focus steered by Ami's tutelage, school was easier than it had ever been.

"Hey Ami, could I get some help over here?" Rei called. Now that Darien wanted to focus on training more, he was more than she could handle. "I think he's ready for us to take him on in pairs." She said to Ami as she transformed. Darien just smiled, he was definitely up for the challenge. He was very happy that he was improving enough to take on two of them at once, and hoped that one day he could take them all on the way Serena did.

"Well, guess it's you and me Mina." Lita said, getting ready to transform.

"Hey, what about me?" Serena called, upset she was being ignored again, even though all the girls were here now. Lita and Mina just looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Mina, why don't you just take my place for a while with Rei? I'm going to get Serena's tutoring out of the way so she has the night free."

"Really? Thanks Ami!"

"What does she need the night free for?" Lita asked, since now she had no one to spar with.

"I have a date tonight." Serena said, blushing at the thought.

"With who this time?" Mina said, suddenly excited, yet keeping in mind Darien was there.

"Reagan." Serena said, starry eyed once more.

"Well that's cool." Mina said, reigning in her excitement, but not too well since her fists were shaking in anticipation of wanting to interrogate her on how he asked her.

"Yeah, so let's start studying!" Serena said, anxious to start.

"Lita, why don't you help Mina fight Darien, while Rei takes a break, she looks a little winded." Ami said, noticing Rei waiting for help, and breathing heavily while not wanting to quit because of her stubbornness.

"No, I can still fight! I mean...train..." Rei said, upset that Ami was implying she couldn't keep up with Darien's pace.

"It's fine Rei, here, let me heal you. Then you can tell me what I'm doing wrong. You have a knack at noticing flaws, after all. You are a perfectionist." Darien said to her, while approaching her to heal her. Rei blushed, she took it as a complement, and she was flattered. She just nodded in agreement.

Serena focused on her work with Ami and finished quickly, while Lita and Mina sparred with Darien, and Rei supervised the workout. Calling out on the girls, since Darien was getting the better of them both.

Once Serena finished her work, she just waved and quickly left. Leaving everyone to their training. After she was gone, Lita and Mina decided it was time for them to take a break, before sparring with each other. Ami and Rei decided it best for them all to take a break, since Ami didn't have the skill to spar with Darien, or help Rei to. They began to talk amongst themselves.

"So Darien, you seem like you could go a few more rounds and be fine. You don't seem like you need a break at all." Rei said, noticing he had small beads of sweat, but he didn't have trouble breathing, or any signs of fatigue.

"Yeah, Ami, do you think it could be from my healing?" He asked the blue haired scout to his left.

"Hmmmm, possibly. Do you feel drained at all? Like you've used your power? Actually, now that I think about it, you've never report feeling drained when you use your power. Do you?" Ami asked, realizing she'd just assumed it drained him, but he never showed proof of it.

"Not really. I feel fine right now, I wasn't really ready to stop. Is that a problem?" Darien said, noticing that probably wasn't normal.

"I'm going to have to run some more tests, but for now, let's not worry about it." Ami said, making a mental note to monitor his energy when healing.

"So Darien, since we're all on this break...can I ask you something?" Mina asked, changing the subject.

"Um, sure. I guess so." Darien said, afraid of what Mina might ask.

"Why is it when guys say their gonna call they almost never do?" Mina said, almost accusingly.

"Well, I don't think I can speak for all guys, since I've never done that, but maybe it's because they don't want to hurt a girls feelings by saying they never want to see them again." Mina pondered his reply then gave one of her own.

"Can't they just realize it hurts us more waiting for their call that never comes?" She said, sounding like it had happened to her recently. Darien didn't know what to say, but he knew that was the first of many similar questions, now that he was spending a lot more time with the girls.

Serena was happy to be home and prepare for her date. She had plenty of time, so she decided to get some gaming in before the date. She was halfway through the whole game before she realized the time, "Oh my gosh! I have an hour before he gets here!" she said, as she put the controller down, and hurried into the shower. After she brushed her hair, she hurried to her closet to pick out an outfit. She decided on a short silver skirt, with black leggings, and a matching silver shirt with a v-neck, and a black undershirt, with sparkling silver heals. 'I hope it's not to over the top, since I don't know where he's taking me.' she thought to herself. Just when she was finally ready, the doorbell rung. She rushed down to answer it before anyone else did, and tripped on her way down the stairs, tumbling the rest of the way down, falling flat on her face. Her mother stepped over her and opened the door. Serena shot straight back up, a few hairs out of place because of the fall, and greeted him.

"Hi, Reagan. Mom, this is my date tonight, Reagan, Reagan, my mom." She said, grabbing her black purse off of the hall table and rushing out the door. "Bye mom, I won't be late!" She said, as she grabbed Reagan's arm and rushed out before he could say anything to her mom, or her to him.

"What was that about?" He asked her once they were in his car.

"Believe me, I just saved you. She would have gushed over you and said, 'Serena, introduce me to your friend, he's so cute!' or something equally embarrassing. But she wouldn't be lying by saying you're cute." She said blushing, and looking down at her hands.

"I see," he said, noticing her insecurity of how to act at the moment. "Well in that case, thank you."

"No problem." She said, happy he didn't seem upset that she dragged him out. "Nice car by the way." She was looking at the interior and noticed it looked like a newer model of car.

"Yeah, I'm making payments on it. It's a car at least, you don't have to lie though, I know it's a piece of crap." He said, embarrassed by the car he drove.

"Really? This isn't a newer car? It looks nice." She said, sliding her hand on the fuzz of the car door.

"Hah, well, I'm glad you like it. It's really nothing compared to the car your ex drives." He said, then immediately stopped speaking.

"Well, I wouldn't know. His car is nice too, but this is the only other car I've been in." She admitted.

"Really? I thought you've been on a lot of dates recently." He said, turning to her every few minutes while he drove.

"Well, yeah, I have. But I usually just meet the guys wherever they're 'taking me'. aside from Darien's car, and my parents', this is the only other car I've been in." She said, hoping she didn't sound too naive.

"Oh." Was his only response. "Well, I'm taking you to a new restaurant, I made reservations this morning so we should be good." he said, hoping the conversation could be steered back to themselves.

"Oh nice, I was hoping I wasn't overdressed." She said, looking down at her outfit.

"You're not, don't worry." He was wearing some black slacks, and a dress shirt, without an overcoat. Once they arrived, they were seated at a table for two with flowers and a beautiful lit candle between them, and a red tablecloth over a white one.

"Wow, this place is fancy, I hope it's not too expensive." She decided to eat after dinner too, as to not cost him too much money.

"Don't worry about it, first impressions are everything." He smiled at her, a sweet smile that told her he wanted everything to be perfect for her. She blushed.

"So Reagan. Tell me about yourself. Where are you from, your parents. You know, the works." She said, as she laid her napkin on her lap.

"Well," Reagan began, "My last name is O'Brien, I come from an Irish family, I have a little brother who works with me in the game store. He's 14, and his name is Minoru. He and I were born here, my parents, Brian and Aine, sort of wanted to expand their minds and see what else was in the world, and somehow they ended up here. My mother turned out pregnant when they arrived here, and they just decided to start their family here, instead of moving from place to place. They really wanted us to feel that we have a 'home'. My father owns the game store, but it's franchised by the company so, I guess that's about it."

"Wow." She said in amazement. The waiter arrived and took their order, then left, and they continued their conversation.

"What about you? What's your story?" He said, gazing into her eyes.

"Well, no where nearly as interesting as yours." 'except that maybe I'm a sailor scout and fight villains all over Tokyo and I've been to the future where I'm queen, and most of my friends are the other sailor scouts' she thought feeling bad she couldn't be honest with him.

"Are you okay?" He looked at her concerned.

"Yeah, um, there's nothing really much to me. My last name is Tsukino, I have a little brother named Sammy, my mother's name is Ikuko, my father's name is Kenji, but everyone just calls him Ken. He works as a photographer for a newspaper, and my mother is a housewife. We've lived in Tokyo all our lives." 'in this lifetime anyway, my other lifetime I've lived on the moon.' She hated talking in her head about things she couldn't tell him.

"That's interesting! It's nice to know there are still normal families in the world!" He said, genuinely smiling at her.

'Ha!' she thought to herself. 'I wish I was normal!' She smiled back at him anyway. When their dinner arrived they ate, she only ordered one course, they shared an appetizer, and he ordered desert for her. She happily ate it. He then took her to the movies, and then took her straight home. He opened the door for her, and walked her to her door.

"So, how was that for a first date?" He asked her, with hope in his eyes.

"It was very nice." She replied.

"Good enough to earn me a second one?" He asked.

"Do you really want a second one?" She asked surprised, she thought her eating might have scared him away like some of the others.

"Course I do! Why wouldn't I want to see a beautiful woman again?" He made her blush again, as he used his had to brush away a strand of hair from her face.

"Um, okay. I'd be happy to." She wasn't lying, she just didn't think she spoke enough for him to realize she was interested.

"Great, I'll call you when I find out when my next day off is."

"Okay, I'll be waiting." She said, as she waved him off and entered her door.

He wished her well, and left, not even attempting to kiss her. She felt relieved because all the other dates she went on it seemed like that's all the other guys wanted to do.

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **Thank you to all reviewers! You guys are awesome!

**Special Thanks/Mention: **inufan155687, Doc-sama, loveinthebattlefield, and xx Twilight Princess xx.


	8. Chapter 8 The 'Right' One?

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**The 'Right' One?**

**Chapter 8**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"So, how was that for a first date?" He asked her, with hope in his eyes.

"It was very nice." She replied.

"Good enough to earn me a second one?" He asked.

"Do you really want a second one?" She asked surprised, she thought her eating might have scared him away like some of the others.

"Course I do! Why wouldn't I want to see a beautiful woman again?" He made her blush again, as he used his had to brush away a strand of hair from her face.

"Um, okay. I'd be happy to." She wasn't lying, she just didn't think she spoke enough for him to realize she was interested.

"Great, I'll call you when I find out when my next day off is."

"Okay, I'll be waiting." She said, as she waved him off and entered her door.

He wished her well, and left, not even attempting to kiss her. She felt relieved because all the other dates she went on it seemed like that's all the other guys wanted to do.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 8**

After Serena left the temple, Darien and the scouts continued to talk. After about half an hour of the scouts having him answer their guy questions, he couldn't wait to go back to training. "Shouldn't we go back to training?"

"Yes, I think that would be best, we don't want to waste any time." Ami said, agreeing with him.

"But he hasn't answered me yet!" Mina was looking at Ami, then turned to Darien, "Well?"

"Um, I guess your best feature is your willingness to try something new." Darien said, unsure of his answer.

"So you're saying I'm ugly?" Mina seemed very upset.

"No, no. I didn't say that! *sigh* Can we please go back to training?" He had a bead of sweat on his forehead, and he was actually looking a little worn. It didn't escape Ami's attention.

"Yes, we can start training again, but before we do, tell me, how do you feel right now Darien?" Ami asked, pulling out her scout computer and the visor that came from her tiara.

"Um, I guess I feel worse than when I was training. I really want to start training again." Darien said, suddenly feeling worn.

"I see. Can I speak with you in private Darien?" She walked away from the girls, Darien close at her heals, eager to be away from the barrage of questions.

"What's going on Ami?" He asked, completely confused in what she wanted to talk to him about in private.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to answer what I was going to ask, in front of the other scouts. Darien, how did you feel when Serena was here? Be as specific as you can, please." Darien wasn't sure if he wanted to answer, but since it was Ami, he knew it would help everyone somehow in the long run.

"Well, I felt a little angry, jealous, sad, and I just felt like hitting something, to be honest."

"Hmmmm, would you say you felt energized?"

"I guess you could say that."

"And when Serena left?"

"I don't know, I guess I kept thinking about why she was leaving, then when Mina started asking me questions, it threw me off guard I guess. I kind of stopped thinking about everything."

"I see."

"What are you thinking?"

"Well, it seems that your emotions are strongly tied to your abilities. Even though you felt all those emotions when Serena was here, you kept them in check and harnessed them to train. That also explains why you were fighting at your pique. As a repercussion to that, once you lost focus of your emotions, when Mina distracted you, your body began to realize how far it had been pushed. These are all theories for now of course, but you should be more careful. If you lose too much of your emotion, or control, your body is likely to give out, if you push too far. It seems that in the moment, your body isn't really a factor, almost as if your Ki is in complete control."

"I see. So from now on, aside from the check-up after every session, I'm going to have to tell you what I'm thinking aren't I?"

"I think that would be best and help with understanding your power."

"Okay, if it has to be done." Darien answered reluctantly.

They trained for two more hours since Serena wasn't anxious to stop and asking them when they were going to be finished. Rei suggested Darien take them out for a shake since they did so well. Darien agreed since he felt like he was still an outsider with the scouts, yet he could feel his bond with the girls quickly turning into friendship. They were no longer just 'Serena's friends' they were really his friends as well. All Darien could think about while the others were chatting about who was cute and ex-boyfriends was Serena. He wondered if the only reason they didn't bring her up was because of him. He tried to think of ways he could get her back. He decided to revisit the 'jealousy works both ways' idea. The only person who had the potential of making Serena jealous was Rei, that he currently knew anyway. He decided to talk to her in private, after everyone had their shake and conversations and went home. Instead of going home, Darien went back to the temple without anyone knowing. Rei could sense someone behind her, but waited until she was at the temple steps to confront the stranger.

"Who's there!" She turned and took a fighting stance.

"Easy Rei, it's just me." Darien said as he came into the light.

"Darien? What are you doing here? I thought you went home." Rei asked, startled that he followed her home.

"Well I didn't want any of the other scouts to know that I wanted to talk to you in private. Especially with their 'creative' imaginations." She felt her heart starting to beat fast. He wanted to talk to her in private and didn't want the scouts to know? What could this mean?

"Okay, let's go into the fire reading room, we can speak in private there." She said, walking up the temple steps.

"That's a good idea." He said, happy to be out of the street and no longer in public. Once they were inside, Rei began to relax, but his presence still made her feel a little nervous.

"Well? What's so important and private that you had to follow me home?" She asked, feeling her cheeks flush at the memory.

"Well, um, I guess, I have a proposition for you." Darien said, with one hand scratching the back of his head, unsure how Rei would react to his 'offer'.

"Proposition?" Rei asked, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

"Yes, uh, well, I had this idea about how to get Serena back." Darien was facing the floor, but was looking up at her from the corner of his eyes, a look on his face that told Rei he was hoping she'd have a positive reaction to his 'offer'. She decided to at least hear him out, otherwise she'd always wonder what he would have said.

"And what is this 'idea' you have?" She asked unsure if she'd be willing to go through with it after she heard the answer.

"Well, I don't like the idea of Serena being with another man-"

"Then why did you tell her you wanted her to? You know she wouldn't have even considered it if you hadn't brought it up!"

"I know! I know, and I couldn't regret it more. I asked her to take it back as soon as I was able to, but she turned me down Rei. She said she saw my point and wanted to grow up."

"Sounds like you're getting what you want, so why go back on your word now?"

"Because I didn't think she'd actually do it, date around I mean."

"Darien, you know she'll just learn how much you mean to her, and have more respect for you. I don't think you did anything wrong at all. I think Serena needs this."

"I can see why you say that Rei, but I just can't handle it. I want her back. I love her, and it's just hurting me knowing that she actually is happy right now, without me."

"So you honestly believe she's happy without you, and you think her happiness away from you is going to make her not want you at all later?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of, anyway."

"Darien, she'll come back to you."

"How can you be so sure?"

"How can you not be?"

"Maybe because I can sense how happy she is in training...when she's been dating other guys."

"But when she's in training she sees you! Haven't you figured that she's happy since you're there?"

"No. I honestly don't see that being the reason."

"What reason do you think then?"

"I think she's happy because she's finally experiencing what being single means. She's having fun and enjoying her time."

"And why is that wrong?"

"I don't know, because I'm the furthest thing from her mind right now. Because she's seeing she doesn't have to be in a relationship with me to be happy. Because she knows that no matter what she does, I'll still be here." He looked at her with intensity in his eyes, so much so that Rei felt intensely uncomfortable with his glare.

"And this is where your idea comes in?" She asked, taking a step back from him, and turning toward the fire.

"Yes, I thought about...I want to...would you be willing to help me make her jealous?" Rei, turned from the fire and just stared at him, unblinking, unsure if she was hearing him right. "I know it's a lot to ask, and you can say no if you want. But I couldn't 'not' ask you. What with our history and the fact that we have a lot in common, I figured it'd be the fastest, and easiest thing for Serena to believe." Rei was still silent, she turned her gaze to the floor. She was unsure of what he meant. She couldn't find the words she wanted to ask, or the voice to even speak. "I'm not going to ask you to do anything crazy, and I don't want to get her jealous right now, but I want to be able to have a backup plan, if she starts to get real 'comfortable' with just one certain guy. I don't want to lose her Rei, please, I really need your help." She still wasn't saying anything. So many things were going through her mind, was this what she had been waiting for? Was he really saying if Serena seemed like she was moving on, he wanted her to help him win her back? Did he really think he wouldn't fall in love with herself? Was she okay with this in general? He seemed to be begging for her help. Did she have it in her to even turn him down anyway? Was she even sure she wanted this, even if he did fall in love with her? Could she live with that, if because of her Serena and Darien weren't together?

"Rei, please say something." Darien said, unsure if her silence was good or bad. She turned to look at him again, and saw the sadness and helplessness in his eyes. She decided she needed more information before she could make any kind of decision.

"I can't decided anything right now, I need to know more of what you're planning. Do you have details?"

"Well, if she goes out with one guy for a month straight, I figured I'd take that as a sign to act before it's too late. I also want to be sure she doesn't just think of the guy as a friend, I don't want to hurt her, just make her jealous, or remind her of what we had."

"What exactly would we be doing to make her jealous?"

"Well, I figured we could be seen together a lot, maybe hold hands on occasions, hug. I understand if you're not comfortable with it."

"And if I'm not? Then what would you do?"

"There's a reason why I'm asking you now. I'm going to have to find a woman who is willing." Darien said, determination in his eyes.

"And you're planning on asking all of the scouts?" Rei asked, feeling like just someone on a list.

"No, just you. If it's not you, it will be a stranger, to you guys at least."

"I see."

"I can't say how far we'd have to take it, that just really depends on Serena believing that I'd move on I guess. Just keep that in mind. Do you have an answer, or do you need more time? I could come back later, we could talk about this next week if you'd be more comfortable after thinking it over."

"I'll do it."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, who better to play a prank on Serena than both her ex-arch enemies, right?"

"I guess that's one way to look at it."

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **Thank you to all reviewers! You guys are awesome!

**Special Thanks/Mention:** inufan155687, Doc-sama, Cassie Garcia, and loveinthebattlefield


	9. Chapter 9 Approval and Disapproval

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Approval and Disapproval**

**Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"There's a reason why I'm asking you now. I'm going to have to find a woman who is willing." Darien said, determination in his eyes.

"And you're planning on asking all of the scouts?" Rei asked, feeling like just someone on a list.

"No, just you. If it's not you, it will be a stranger, to you guys at least."

"I see."

"I can't say how far we'd have to take it, that just really depends on Serena believing that I'd move on I guess. Just keep that in mind. Do you have an answer, or do you need more time? I could come back later, we could talk about this next week if you'd be more comfortable after thinking it over."

"I'll do it."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, who better to play a prank on Serena than both her ex-arch enemies, right?"

"I guess that's one way to look at it."

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 9**

After Serena got home from her date, she was on cloud 9. She was so happy, and impressed with his sweetness, and understanding of her eating habits. He made no comment about them at all, which was a nice relief compared with all of her other dates. Her good mood didn't escape her family, her mother confronted her almost as soon as she came into the door.

"Serena, what was that?" Ikuko asked coming out of the kitchen to greet her daughter.

"Hmmmm?" Serena just looked at her mother, still swooning over her date.

"Well you didn't even let me meet the boy properly! He could have at least had some tea with us before you rushed him out the door!"

"Oh mama, you would have just swooned over him like you'd do with any guy I'd bring over."

"That's not true! I just like to meet the friends of my daughter, especially if they make you happy, as this boy obviously does!" Ikuko said, a big smile on her face for her daughter. Serena just blushed and looked toward her mother.

"I don't know what it is about him mama, but he just makes me feel like I have butterflies in my stomach. "

"That's how you're supposed to feel after a first date, my dear." Ikuko said, happy Serena seemed to be having a real teenage experience, instead of planning her wedding with Darien Shields. Ikuko found it so odd that such an older man was interested in her daughter, 19 to her precious 14 was too big of a gap to ever make her mother feel at ease. Since Darien put the condition on their relationship, she felt more fond of the man, yet she still hoped that she found someone her own age.

"Mama, I'm going to bed now." Serena said, walking dreamily to her room.

"Did you finish your homework when you went to Rei's?" her mother asked, concerned that love would make her grades falter.

"Yes mama." She could hear her mother sigh with relief, and it made her smile. For once everything just seemed to be going her way.

"I would say, 'sweet dreams' but I don't think you need the encouragement." Ikuko smiled to herself at the thought.

"Night mama." She heard her daughter holler down the stairs.

"Goodnight." Ikuko called back.

The next day, Serena was more than happy to keep up her 'winning streak' with school. She was proud of herself and decided the neglecting of her studies was wrong of her to do. She couldn't believe that she had harbored such hatred for her studies before. The feeling of wanting to be smarter was overwhelming now, and she didn't want to give it up. She was actually quite smart when she put her mind to it, she realized playing her video games had helped her see patterns and memorize formulas the way she did with codes and passwords with her games. Ami had helped her realize the link, and it made learning that much fun and easier. During lunch, she caught up with the girls at their usual lunch hangout spot outside by a huge cherry tree and asked them what their thoughts were of Reagan.

"Serena, we haven't met him remember?" Mina asked, surprised that Serena hadn't realized it on her own. They all sat around Serena, with Serena herself, having her back to the giant tree.

"Really? Wow, you guys have to tell me what you think! We should all go to the game store after school."

"Don't you think that'd be a little obvious? Besides, you never asked us to check out any of the other guys you've been dating." Ami said, a little concerned about what it meant that Serena wanted all of them to meet him.

"Well, Reagan's different! He's really cute, and sweet, and really interested in me, and not just my eating habits!" Serena said, really offended when she remembered how other men had reacted.

"Oh Serena, just because a guy is a gentlemen on the first date, doesn't mean he won't turn out to be a dog later! He may just be a wolf in sheep's clothing!" Mina said, remembering the men she thought had potential, just disappointed her later.

"But he's different! C'mon guys, don't you think I'm a good judge of character?" The girls had to agree that she did have a knack for people, but she also had the habit of seeing the good in people, no matter how bad someone seemed to be. Which had gotten her in pickles before.

"Okay, I'll go see him." Lita was the first to volunteer, not feeling strongly either way.

"If we are going to do this, don't you think we should be less conspicuous?" Ami said, worried about how it would look if they all went into the game store at the same time, just to stare at one of the workers.

"What'd you have in mind Ami?" Mina asked.

"Well, maybe we could meet at the arcade and go one at a time to the game store. It probably will be just as obvious, but at least it would be less obvious then if we all went at once."

"Very true, and that way we can each go without Serena so we can see how he acts when he's not around her!" Mina said, suddenly excided at the idea. "Plus, I've been meaning to pick up the new Sailor V game anyway, so I have every reason to go anyway. You guys are going to look funny, just walking in and looking around before you just leave again!"

"Or, if you really are going to buy the game, we could leave Serena at the arcade and just go with you to pick up your game." Ami said, taking the new information into consideration. "That way we all have a reason to go, and it won't be suspicious since you're buying the game anyway."

"Fine, fine." Mina said reluctantly.

"Yay, you guys have to tell me everything! I'm not going to go in today, cause I don't want to look like a stalker or something." Serena commented.

"That didn't seem to bother you when you were stalking Darien." Lita whispered under her breath.

"What was that?" Serena said.

"Nothing, I just don't remember you ever caring about looking like a stalker before." Lita clarified.

"Oh, well, first impressions are everything!" Serena happily replied. Just then the bell rang, and they all headed back to class. After school they stuck to their plan and only Serena headed to the arcade. She found Andrew and took a seat.

"Hey Serena, what brings you here today?"

"Oh, the girls are going to tell me what they think of Reagan."

"They're doing what?" a voice from behind her said, walking up to her.

"Reagan! What are you doing here?"

"I figured you might be here since you always came here after school, before you started coming to the game store."

"You remembered that?" Serena said, embarrassed she'd been caught.

"Yeah, so I took my break, right when you usually came into the store."

"Well, it's not how it sounds, I wanted my friends to meet you." She said, suddenly afraid she had come off as a stalker.

"Well then why didn't you just introduce us next time we went out? We could have done a group thing, that would have been fine with me." Reagan said surprised that Serena was having her friends spy on him.

"Because I didn't want them to horn in on our date!" Reagan chuckled at her response, he couldn't be mad at her. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be in school, or work?" Serena said, trying to find a reason why she wasn't to blame for the girls not finding him at the game store.

"No, I'm home schooled, and I took my break hoping to catch you here."

"Oh, that's interesting. I didn't know you were home schooled."

"You never asked, I guess it just never came up." He sat next to her on the stool Darien used to sit in. She felt odd, seeing him sitting in it, but she wasn't sure why. "What's wrong?" He knew the look on her face was a look of being displeased.

"Nothing, how long do you have on your break?"

"Fifteen minutes, why?"

"Because I'm guessing the girls will be back any time now. Would you mind meeting them?"

"Not at all, if it's for you." He said smiling. She blushed. "I love it when you do that." He said to her, as he picked up her face with his hand and looked into her eyes. "By the way, my next day off is in three days. If things go well, I could see us going out three times a week."

"Wow, really thinking ahead aren't you?" She was surprised by his candor.

"Always, I know what I want when I see it. I may not always get what I want, but I damn sure make every effort, so I can't say I didn't try!" He said, sitting tall, proud of his motto. Just then the girls walked in and didn't notice him at first.

"Serena, I bought the game and everything, and all we saw was a kid that looked no older than 14 that fit your description! He couldn't possibly be the guy you- Oh...hehehe...hello. You must be Reagan?" Mina said, after she had walked up to Serena and realized the man sitting next to her was the exact man Serena had described.

"Why yes I am, and you are?" Reagan extended his hand in greeting to the other beautiful blonde.

"I'm Mina, this is Ami, and Lita, we're Serena's best friends." Mina said, pointing to each girl in turn. "It may have been a girlish thing to do, but we just wanted to see who was trying to sweep Serena off her feet this time." Mina explained while the other two just looked embarrassed.

"It's fine. I understand, after all, my father and brother already know what Serena looks like, or else I probably would have had them do the same thing." He gave them a comforting smile. They looked relieved. "Well, I better head back to work, better early than late!" He gave Serena a wink nodded at the girls, and walked toward the door. "Bye Serena, see you in three days, I'll be by at around 7."

"See you then!" Serena managed to say before he was out the door and out of earshot. The girls then discussed how embarrassed they were and what they thought of him after he left.

"Not bad Serena, he seems like a real charmer." Lita approved.

"Yes, he has good work ethics it seems." Ami chimed in.

"Wow Serena, how do you find these sweet hunksters!" Mina pouted.

"Just good luck I guess." Serena shrugged. They continued talked for half an hour before they realized they were late to the temple.

"Guys, we have to go now! I can't believe I didn't notice how late we were!" Ami said, shocked at her own unpreparedness. They all left in a hurry toward Rei's temple.

Meanwhile, Darien had arrived, once again before anyone else did. However, Rei appeared shortly after. "Where is everyone?" Rei asked.

"I thought you'd be able to tell me. Probably off on recon for Serena's new guy." Darien thought out loud, not minding if Rei heard since she knew how he felt about the situation.

"Probably." Rei agreed, upset that they didn't include her, and also that they didn't tell Darien training might start a little later. Really, if she did have an evil ulterior motive with Darien, they were making it too easy. "So, want to try some of that self control emotion stuff?" Rei asked.

"What'd you have in mind?" Darien was skeptical of what she had planned.

"Well, a game of sorts. I'll give you scenarios and you tell me how you think or how you feel emotionally about them."

"Sounds like a good training exercise, I'm in." Darien had a lot of respect for her, and the way she was always willing to be on his side lately, just made it that much easier to get along with her.

"Okay, a pretty girl asks you out, she looks to be your age. You just found out Serena wants to wait even longer than when she turns 18 to get back with you. Would you go out with her?"

"I thought this was just emotional questions, not 20 questions." Darien said, clearly un amused by Rei's question.

"Trust me, they'll get better, just focus on how they make you feel. You only have to answer the ones you want to answer. I'll keep them coming, and just start answering when you start to feel something, or you want to say something."

"Okay, fine." Darien wasn't sure if agreeing was a good idea, but he decided it couldn't really hurt. "I don't feel any different, and I don't like that question."

"Okay, next question, you see Ami kiss a guy, and she looks real into it."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"They're just scenarios, stop pausing the game at every question!"

"Well that one had nothing to do with me, and it wasn't even a question!"

"Yeah, but it's Ami! You really wouldn't at least be surprised?"

"Not really, it will happen for her when it happens to her. It's bound to happen sooner or later, right?"

"I guess that's true. Next question, You see Serena kiss another man-"

"I'd rip his heart out of his chest and crush it in front of his face."

"What?"

"Huh? Oh, I feel really hyper, ready to train. Want to spar?"

"No, I mean, what did you say?"

"What?"

"What was your answer to the scenario! Do you really feel that way? I mean, Serena standing right there wouldn't even be a factor?"

"I'm just saying the first thing that comes to mind, I highly doubt I'd actually do it, you know?"

"Um, yeah, I guess. So your energy is way up now?"

"I don't know, I just feel like I need to move! Training would be real perfect right now."

"Well, none of the others are here yet, and I'm not about to take you on myself again when you're this hyped up, you're going to have to learn to control it."

"Well, I guess this is the perfect exercise to help me learn how to do that then." He said, and gave her a soft smile. Rei's ping of jealousy struck her again, about how Serena took him away from her, before they even had a chance to see if they would even have a real relationship.

"Okay, next question, do you think you could fall in love with someone else other than Serena?"

"No."

"Even if she moved on?"

"I'd just try to win her back."

"What if she didn't want to be 'won back'? What if she was happy? You'd be willing to rip away her happiness instead of looking for your own?" Rei just wanted to hear him say he could move on. Even if he had to learn to do it.

"I hope it doesn't come to me finding out." He suddenly felt all his energy leave him all at once. Rei noticed the change immediately.

"Okay, well then what if you suddenly fell in love with someone else?" He gave her a cock eyed grin.

"Do you really think that's possible?"

"Hey, random scenario's remember? Just answer the question or don't , but don't question the questions!"

"Okay, okay, um, I guess it'd have to depend on who the woman was. I mean, I can't see myself falling in love with just anyone."

"What if it was me?" She blurted out before she could stop herself.

**To Be Continued...**


	10. Chapter 10 Come Back To Me

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Come Back To Me**

**Chapter 10**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"What if she didn't want to be 'won back'? What if she was happy? You'd be willing to rip away her happiness instead of looking for your own?" Rei just wanted to hear him say he could move on. Even if he had to learn to do it.

"I hope it doesn't come to me finding out." He suddenly felt all his energy leave him at once.

"Okay, well then what if you suddenly fell in love with someone else?" He gave her a cock eyed grin.

"Do you really think that's possible?"

"Hey, random scenario's remember? Just answer the question or don't , but don't question the questions!"

"Okay, okay, um, I guess it'd have to depend on who the woman was. I mean, I can't see myself falling in love with just anyone."

"What if it was me?" She blurted out before she could stop herself.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 10**

Darien didn't know what to say, he had only thought of her in that way before Serena was known to be the Moon Princess from his dreams. After which, he never thought of Rei as anything more than Serena's friend. He'd believed her feelings for him were long gone after they'd been to the future and found Queen Serena and King Endymion had a daughter. He had a feeling the question meant more to her then she was trying to let on, and yet, he had never really thought about it before.

"Okay, next question." When he was silent after two minutes, she decided that was her chance to change the subject without causing suspicion.

"Uh, Rei-"

"I said next question!"

"No, I want to talk about it."

"There's nothing to talk about, it was just another question, I told you, you don't have to answer them if you don't want to."

"But I get the feeling you want an answer-"

"No, I don't really care." She lied as she blushed and waved her hand as if she could wave off the question.

"Well, I've never really thought about you in that way-"

"It's fine, next question. How would you feel if Andrew turned out to be gay and had the hots for you?" She was desperate to make him forget her comment, and it seemed to work. He began to think she was just trying to come up with extremes.

"Uh..." Just then, the other girls showed up. Ami was the first to the top of the steps.

"I'm so sorry you guys, we lost track of time and, well, it's so unlike me!" She apologized. Rei and Darien just looked at each other. Rei was relieved for the distraction, Darien was just beginning to enjoy knowing what triggered each surge of energy.

"That's okay Ami, Darien was still able to train, we just weren't able to spar. I'm sure he has some great information for you to input and study about his powers." Rei said, walking toward the girls, only stopping when she reached Serena at the end of the temple grounds, next to the stairs. Darien gave her a 'this isn't over' look. She wasn't pleased.

"Well Rei, um, the girls have all met Reagan, would you like to sometime?" Serena whispered to Rei while she was standing next to her.

Ami walked over to Darien and got her computer ready to input the information he had for her. "So Darien, did you learn anything interesting?" he looked toward Rei and replied.

"I guess you could say that." Rei turned away quickly, as her face began to flush, when he made eye contact with him. Serena was oblivious to everything that was going on.

"Rei, don't blush! Darien will know I'm talking about Reagan! I don't want to hurt his feelings, I still love him." When she heard Serena say that, her heart just about stopped in her chest. She pulled Serena a little ways down the stairs of the temple and spoke harshly toward her.

"What do you mean you still love him? If that's true, why didn't you just get back with him before, when he offered? Why are you even dating Reagan then? Why do you want us all to meet him?" Rei wasn't sure how she felt about the whole situation, but she was sure of one thing, she didn't like it. Serena was straddling a dangerous line, and knowing her, she didn't realizes just how high up that line was.

"Because he was right on a few things." Serena put her head down and tapped her fingers together while staring at them as she spoke. "I'm not ready for our relationship, I am immature right now, even I can see that, but that doesn't mean I don't love him. I'm dating Reagan to see if I can figure out why I am the way I am. He's a good looking guy, and I can't say I'm not attracted to him. Also, if I do date him for a while, I can see how different I treat him and how I interact with other guys. I can find out just how abnormal my attitude with Darien really is." Serena was pleased with her justification, but she still didn't like what she was doing any more than Rei approved of it.

"So you have a plan then?" Rei said, surrendering. There was nothing she could do, neither would ever forget the other. She knew that from the beginning, but forgetting and getting over someone were two different things. Rei hoped Serena would find what she was looking for sooner rather than later. For both Serena and Darien's sake.

"Well, not really a plan, as much as wishful thinking. I just hope being in a normal relationship will help make me a normal girlfriend. No real effort involved. Then, I can see, hopefully, why I acted the way I have and fix it."

"Well, it's better than nothing. You seem like you're really growing up already meatball head." She patted Serena's head as she walked back to the rest of the girls.

"And you haven't grown at all!" Serena yelled at Rei. When they all gathered at the center of the shrine grounds, Ami was just finishing up inputting the new data. She had taken Darien aside and they were talking privately near one of the rooms. Lita and Mina were talking amongst themselves about Reagan, since Darien was out of earshot. Now that everyone was gathering, everyone stopped their murmurs to each other.

"So Ami, how should we proceed for today's training session?" Darien asked, ready to test his abilities and control. With Ami's help, he was anxious to try out the new theory that all he had to do was focus on thoughts that made him feel certain ways, jealous or angry were probably best for sparring, and sad or empathetic would probably be best for healing.

"Well, how about if today you sparred with Lita, Mina, and Rei. I'll be helping Serena with her combat strategies. I was able to create an illusion spar partner for her that should give her some kind of encouragement." Just then Rei saw an optical replica of herself pop up next to Ami. "I can control all of her movements and techniques. I'll start slow, but she does emit energy when she lands hits with electrical waves pulsing from contact with her. So, Serena, if you get hit, it will hurt."

"But I don't want to get hurt!" Serena said while pouting.

"Then you best get the better of her." Ami said with a smile.

"Why does it have to be me?" Rei said, disappointed at the fact that even when they were on good terms, they seemed to be at odds.

"Because you bring her emotions out best. That will help direct her abilities toward one target, and I really see her actually able to control her landings instead of jumping and running franticly. I think this is just what she needs." Ami said, having both Rei's face each other for a moment.

"The resemblance is scary, if she wasn't so blue and sketchy." Rei said while reaching out to her.

"Don't touch her!" Ami tried to warn, but it was too late, Rei had made contact and it burned her hand.

"Ow! Geez Ami, what'd you put in that thing?"

"I told you it had an electrical current if you touched it!" Rei pulled her hand away from her chest to look at it, and saw smoke coming from her glove. Darien rushed over to heal her, and pulled her hand toward him. This time it didn't escape Serena's attention, the look they gave each other, for just a second, but even so, it made Serena feel strange. She could feel her heart beat strangely at the sight. She tried to just shake it off, and refocus on her new task. Now that she saw just how seriously this 'thing' could damage her, she prepared to be on her highest guard. After Rei was healed, everyone prepared for their respective battles, while Ami used her computer to record all the fights individually and simultaneously. She would later look over the data and see what worked, and what didn't, and alter respectively.

Darien was able to easily take on the scouts, to the point where he asked them to not hold back on using both physical and magical abilities. They did as they were told, but still easily downed. Meanwhile Serena showed just how much practice she needed. She tripped and stumbled on almost everything, yet her sheer speed kept her safe from any real attack. Ami had the O.I.R. [Optical Illusion Rei] at the highest 'average human speed' for accuracy. She also didn't want Serena seriously injured, but as it stood, as clumsy as Serena was, she still was dodging the attacks fine. Serena was terrified about getting hit after she had seen what it had done to Rei's hand, but also the fact that all it did was stand there, without Rei even attacking it, did that much damage. And now it was after her, trying to hurt her!

They got three hours done, when they finally stopped. "Great job everyone! Serena, I'm making a cyborg for you to battle against. It will have less limits then the optical illusion, and more range and abilities. Even though we can't land a hit, the cyborg should be able to do _something_!"

"I'm not sure I want it to!" Serena said, rubbing her but from the frequent falls caused by her tripping and stumbling. Darien was healing the other sailor scouts who were all out of breath and exhausted. Mina and Lita had dates they wanted to get ready for, while Rei headed to her temple to get started on her homework. She didn't want to be near Serena and Darien right now. It just made her too uncomfortable, she decided to just concentrate in the flame room.

Ami was standing by herself by the stairs waiting for Serena to go home with her and help her with her homework. She gave them privacy by standing on the other side of the grounds while Darien walked up to her to heal her. "Here, let me take care of those." Darien said, happy to hold her once more. Serena backed away, shaking her head wildly while waving her arms.

"No, no, I'm fine, really! They're just bruises! They're already healing!"

"Serena, what's wrong? I'm just going to heal you."

"It's going to hurt isn't it? I hate going to doctors or hospitals!"

"Serena, I promise it won't hurt."

"Are you sure?" She said, still pouting.

"Yes. I'm sure." He said, with a small chuckle at her fear of pain. He didn't even have to touch her, before he felt his powers emitting from him and going toward her. He hoped she didn't notice she was healed before he got to her. He practically jumped at her and held her in his arms.

"Darien?" She said into his shoulder, unsure about what was going on. She did have to admit, she felt much better already.

"Just a little longer Serena." She stayed silent in his embrace, after a few seconds, she felt her arms raise, ready to hold him back. She caught herself and backed up, pushing him away in the process.

"I feel better now. Thank you." She said, blushing.

"You've never had to have me heal you before." He said, seriousness in his eyes, and despair in his voice. She gasped. She had no idea how to reply, then she found a question in her mind.

"You never hold any of the other scouts when you heal them." She said, with her head down, looking up at him.

"I don't want to hold any of the other scouts. It's surprising how easy it is to heal you. Usually it takes a minute or two. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I feel a million times better. Thank you Darien." She started walking toward Ami.

"Serena wait!" She stopped short and turned around. "Yes?"

"Serena, how far are you willing to take this?" He couldn't stop himself from asking the question, and he didn't want to. It was a question that was plaguing him night after night when he found out she was looking for someone else.

"What?"

"How far are you willing to take this? I mean, are you going to have a steady boyfriend, engaged, married? How long before you'll come back to me?"

"I don't know, does it matter? If we move on we move on. If we don't, we don't. Darien, I love you." At that she ran to Ami and dragged her running down the stairs and through the sidewalk.

"Serena!" Darien called after her but to no avail. She was gone. "Damn it!" He fell to one knee and hit the temple ground with his fist.

"Darien?" Rei was standing in the doorway to the fire room. She felt so bad for him, but she didn't know how to console him.

"Why won't she come back Rei?" He asked, as she caught a tear escape from his eyes, he was looking at the ground. "If she loves me, and I love her, why won't she come back?"

"Darien, she doesn't want to hurt you, she does love you. Serena never has been that bright. What are you afraid of?"

"Everything! There are too many possibilities to count! I just want to know what she's looking for so that I could find it for her!"

"I think that's the problem. We're always doing things for her, this is something she wants to do herself, for you. I think you're taking it the wrong way-"

"What's the right way? I don't see one! I just know the way I feel right now, I'm in hell." He got back on his feet and wiped his face before turning to Rei.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to talk like this to you, it's just that I'm so frustrated right now."

"No, it's alright. Don't worry about it." She said, holding back tears of her own. She wasn't sure why she was crying, but she figured it was because she felt so bad for Darien and his frustrations. "You just have to understand you did the right thing. You'll both be happier when she's had a real choice, and somewhat of a normal life."

"I hope your right Rei, for my sake." He then walked down to his motorcycle and left.

Weeks past and everything seemed to have a routine. Serena went out with Reagan three times a week, they trained every day, and Ami always tutored Serena after training. Lita and Mina had frequent dates, and Rei tried to focus on her fire readings. Darien started a routine of his own, he needed Andrew more than ever, after Serena started dating Reagan regularly. He would see Andrew every day, sometimes twice a day, before training and after, when Serena had her dates, or he just felt lonely. Andrew just told him from what he knew, Reagan seemed like a good guy, but that didn't comfort Darien any more than her not wanting to come back to him did.

One day, while Andrew was about to close the arcade, a thunderstorm started. "Damn, and it started out as such a beautiful day too!" Andrew said disappointed that he'd have to go home in the rain, and that the rest of his day seemed ruined. "Oh well, I suppose a night in with Rita won't be too bad either." He gave Darien a wink, then felt bad that he mentioned being with his girlfriend when Darien was alone. Just then Serena ran into the Arcade. "Serena? What are you doing here?" Andrew asked her as she ran into the arcade.

"Ami is sick, so I figured I'd visit Reagan, but I guess they closed early, the sign on the store said they had a corporate meeting and would be open tomorrow though." She said as she shook herself off, "I'm glad the arcade was still open Andrew! You're a lifesaver!" She smiled up at him, but her smile quickly faded when she heard the rumble of thunder and saw the quick flash of light. "Ahhhhhhh!" She ran behind the counter with her eyes closed. The power to the arcade went out with the latest lighting strike. "I hate lightning, I hate thunder! I hate the dark!" She wailed.

"Darien, could you stay with her while I check the circuit breaker please?" Darien hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she walked in, but it appeared she didn't even notice he was there. She didn't even move at the mention of his name.

"Sure Andrew." He said, as he got up and started walking toward the frightened 'rabbit'. Andrew got the flashlight from behind the counter and walked into a back room where they heard another door open and close. All was quiet until another bolt of lightning lit up the small establishment. He saw Serena instinctively grab at him and hold him close, and he returned her actions with a hug of his own. "It's okay, I won't let anything happen to you." He said holding her while staring at the top of her head, seeing her head down and her eyes clenched.

She felt so safe and warm in his embrace, she just wanted the rain to stop and the horror to be over. Darien was thinking the exact opposite. He just wanted time to stop and for him to stay with his bunny like this forever. Suddenly the lights came back on, and the once dark room was lit up with electronics and the sounds of all the games restarting everywhere. "Ahhh!" She was startled by the sudden lights and sounds. "Darien, I'm sorry." She managed to say after the shock wore off.

"What? You have nothing to apologize for. A lot of people are scared of storms." She was looking up at him and her blue eyes, still fresh tears in their brim, felt like a knife into his heart.

"Yes, I do. This can't be easy for you. I, I can feel the pull to you that you probably feel for me." She said as she buried her head in his chest.

"Serena..."

"The last time we really spoke I ran away like I always do, before you got a chance to speak, I'm sorry." She said as she let her tears fall. Without any more words he tilted her head up gently with his hand, and softly touched his lips to hers.

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **Thank you to all reviewers! You guys are awesome! A special shout out to Ami-chanMercury98, thank you for your kind words and great review, it really helped motivate me to write this next chapter! ;)

**Special Thanks/Mention:** xx Twilight Princess xx, inufan155687, SailorMoonAddict, loveinthebattlefield, Ami-chanMercury98, and Cassie Garcia


	11. Chapter 11 Reap What You Sew

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Chapter 11**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

She felt so safe and warm in his embrace, she just wanted the rain to stop and the horror to be over. Darien was thinking the exact opposite. He just wanted time to stop and for him to stay with his bunny like this forever. Suddenly the lights came back on, and the once dark room was lit up with electronics and the sounds of all the games restarting everywhere. "Ahhh!" She was startled by the sudden lights and sounds. "Darien, I'm sorry." She managed to say after the shock wore off.

"What? You have nothing to apologize for. A lot of people are scared of storms." She was looking up at him and her blue eyes, still fresh tears in their brim, felt like a knife into his heart.

"Yes, I do. This can't be easy for you. I, I can feel the pull to you that you probably feel for me." She said as she buried her head in his chest.

"Serena..."

"The last time we really spoke I ran away like I always do, before you got a chance to speak, I'm sorry." She said as she let her tears fall. Without any more words he tilted her head up gently with his hand, and softly touched his lips to hers.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 11**

Darien could feel her face stretch, as if her eyes were open. He opened his eyes to see he was right. She looked to be in total shock. He slowly pulled away from her, and she didn't move. "Serena?" Her eyes started to tear up. "Serena, what's wrong?"

"Why?" She managed to squeak.

"What?"

"Why? Why did you do that?" She raised her fingers and gently touched her lips with them. "Why?"

"I'm sorry Serena, I just had to, I didn't think it would upset you."

"You didn't think at all! Darien, I'm dating Reagan! We've been going out for a month!" She screamed, closing her eyes, and balling her hands into fists at her sides.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just thought-"

"I can't believe you!"

"Serena, I'm sorry, Reagan doesn't have to know." She opened her eyes, and stared in shock at Darien's comment.

"Of course he has to know! I have to tell him, I can't hide this from him!" She stood up, happy that the storm outside had passed, and watched Andrew in the doorway to the back room. Neither had noticed he was back.

"The storm is over." Andrew said silently to both of them. Serena ran out, without another word.

"I think it's just begun." Darien said after Serena left. He couldn't believe she had reacted that way, she had said she felt the pull to him just as much as he had, was that not the invitation he thought it was? Would she really tell Reagan about what happened? If she did, would he get mad at her, or him?

"Did you seriously kiss her?" Andrew asked walking to his post back behind the counter.

"Yeah. You didn't see it?"

"No, I got back just as she was holding her lips and scolding you." Andrew said as he got a cloth and started wiping the counter with it. He knew he wasn't going to go home anytime soon now. Now with what just happened. His friend needed him right now.

"I don't know what came over me." He was explaining to Andrew.

"You don't have to explain. You're feelings took over, it happens, I know you love her." He avoided eye contact, hoping that was enough to stop the conversation from getting to serious.

"I do, but maybe that's the problem."

"What do you mean? You're going to _try_ to stop loving her?"

"No, I don't think that's possible. I think it's time I made her think I've moved on."

"What are you talking about? No, you don't mean...Darien, this spells disaster all over it!"

"Jealousy is my last option Andrew! What else can I do?"

"Not that! Just, you know, let up on her a little."

"It's not that simple, I see her every day at the temple!"

"I know."

"I have to get her off my mind, somehow..."

"So are you really going to go through with that Rei thing you were telling me about?"

"I don't know. I think she's more invested in me then I've ever known."

"Seriously? You didn't notice that before? That girl has always acted like she's been waiting for you her whole life, but I guess when you were with Serena, and you both felt the same way for each other, it was hard to notice anyone else."

"For me it was." Darien said, as he put his head down and was finally done with chasing the bunny. "I don't want to mess with Rei's feelings, do you think I should wait for someone else?"

"No, I think it's best for it to be Rei. I know that she can control herself if things start to go too far. Serena is her best friend, and she won't do something that you can't take back, like another girl would."

"You sure about that? She is fiery. I may end up having to stop her."

"I think you're under estimating her loyalty to her friend. She just wants the best for both of you."

"If you say so. I'll let you go home to Rita, thanks Andrew, for hanging out after hours for a while."

"No problem, I'm just as loyal as Rei." He said with a wink as his friend walked out the door.

Serena had run straight home after what happened. She couldn't deny she enjoyed the kiss, which is probably what scared her the most. She had yet to kiss Reagan, she was scared to kiss anyone else since the only other kiss she had besides Darien was a forced kiss from Prince Diamond, what seemed like forever ago. She decided she had to cross that milestone, or else it wouldn't be a real relationship with another man. Or was this how she was? Fickle to the end? 'No, it was only because it was Darien, had it been anyone else, I would have at least slapped them.' She decided, since she had gone this far, she needed to kiss Reagan, and it would happen on their next date, whether they were both ready or not. The next day was a date night with Reagan, she not only had to tell him what happened, but also try to get him to kiss her afterward. She was afraid of how much she would dislike it. She couldn't imagine kissing another man, and having it be as wonderful as when she'd kissed Darien.

As soon as Darien got home he made a phone call to Rei. He was fortunate that she picked up instead of her grandfather. "Hello?" He heard her voice on the other end of the receiver.

"Rei? It's Darien. I think it's that time to try that plan I talked to you about."

"Are you sure?" Rei asked, not quite sure how Serena would react to their little 'prank'. She knew something big was coming toward Serena and Darien's relationship, but she couldn't be sure what. She hoped she wasn't the obstacle of her visions.

"Yes. I kissed her Rei."

"What? When?"

"Tonight, during the storm. She got angry and ran off. She told me she was going to tell Reagan what happened. If he stays with her, I don't think I'm going to have any other choice."

"I understand." She said calmly on the other line. Maybe it wasn't her, maybe Darien was going to push her too hard. She decided she'd have better control if he was 'with' her and could stop him from possibly pushing her away.

"So are you still up for it? It's okay if you've changed your mind."

"No, it's okay, I'm still in."

"Good, we can start the day after tomorrow, when she tells you guys how it went on their date, after she tells him what happened."

"Sounds like a plan." Rei sounded almost sad at his situation.

"Rei?"

"Yeah?"

"How are you?"

"What?"

"I mean, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine why?"

"I was just wondering because I don't think I ever ask. I'm sorry, I've been so focused on Serena, I've treated you badly. I didn't even ask how you were when you answered the phone. I'm beginning to see why Mina keeps asking me those questions."

"Darien, it's okay. Don't worry about it."

"Okay, sweet dreams. Sorry again."

"Good night Darien." They both hung up their phones.

Serena was in her room, trying to decide how to tell Reagan what had happened. The only thing she was sure of, was that she couldn't keep it a secret. If she wanted the relationship to last, and she did, she had to tell him. Just how long it would last afterward would be up to him. She would understand if he didn't want to stay with her after that. If he didn't, she genuinely wasn't sure what she would do. She didn't want to go back to Darien, especially after what happened. Sure she enjoyed the kiss, but it was a stolen kiss none the less. She began to really wonder if she had led him on or not. He already knew she was scared of storms, but she also knew of the pull he had for her. The same one that pulled at her heart every time she saw him. She remembered Ami's cyborg and how Ami said it would be done any day now. With a cyborg to train with, maybe she didn't have to go to Rei's for training. Maybe she could just go to an empty parking lot or something. She decided to pay more attention to the places she passed to and from school to scout for a location to train in by herself.

The following day, Serena searched her surroundings on her way to school in order to find a suitable area, and found several that had potential. She decided to search further out as well, maybe she could find somewhere between her home and the game store. She had the most trouble she's had since she decided on focusing on school work at school that day. Every second seemed to drag on for hours. She was zoned out for most of her classes, and for lunch, she wasn't even talkative when she was sharing lunch with Ami, Lita, and Mina. "Serena, something on your mind?" Mina asked, sensing her pain and confusion.

"Huh? Oh, I don't know. I just, was...thinking." She responded, though even in her confusion, stuffing down her lunch in seconds.

"About?" Mina wouldn't give up until she at least had some kind of information.

"Darien and Reagan." Serena admitted.

"What about them?" Lita asked, wishing she could have such a problem with two such hunky guys. Serena grew flushed, unsure how to reveal what had happened.

"Well, Darien kissed me last night." She said, still shocked she had put herself in such a situation.

"What!" All the girls gasped. "When?" Ami asked, since she couldn't figure out when she would run into him without her around to see it.

"Well, after you left training. When you called and told me you felt like you were getting sick and weren't going to be able to come over to tutor me, I went to go see if I could catch Reagan still working. I ended up getting caught in the storm, and found the game store closed. They ended up being at a convention. I ran to the arcade for shelter and Darien ended up being there while Andrew was closing up..." The girls used their imaginations to fill in the blanks, which may have been worse.

"Oh Serena!" Mina said, understanding why she would be confused now.

"I just don't know what I'm going to tell Reagan."

"You're going to tell him?" Lita said, not believing she'd want to admit such a thing.

"Well yeah, I mean, you can't build a relationship on lies." Serena answered, honestly.

"So you really want to build a 'real' relationship with this guy? Are you trying to force yourself to forget about Darien?" Mina asked, sadness evident in her voice.

"I don't think I could even if I tried Mina. I just want to see how 'possible' a normal life can be. So far it seems distant, however, I do really like Reagan."

"Serena, how do you not feel like you're cheating." Mina asked, unsure if she wanted to bring up her negative emotions.

"I do feel like I'm cheating, that's the problem!" Serena shouted, tears starting to form.

"I guess the real question is who you feel like you're cheating on..." Ami said, blushing and turning her face toward her food.

"Honestly? Both of them." Serena said, with a sad smile, tears falling freely.

"Oh Serena..." Mina said, hurting for her.

"I know the reason I want to try so bad with Reagan is for Darien's sake. Now that he's hurting so much, I don't know what I'm doing it for anymore."

"Do you have feelings for Reagan?"

"I can't say that I don't. He's very sweet, and kind, and caring. That's the problem, I know my feelings for Reagan are growing, and that's why I can't go back to Darien, I can't have any doubts if I'm with him. I'll just end up hurting us both in the end."

The bell rung, signaling the end of lunch. "Go home Serena, you've been doing so well, you deserve a break. Serena looked up at Ami and smiled. She didn't say anything, for fear of losing control and sobbing uncontrollably. She gathered her things and went home for the rest of the day, searching yet again on her way home, for a safe place to train, away from her love.

Darien was working at the hospital all morning, his shift ended with an hour to spare before he had to head to Rei's temple. He was tempted to head to the Arcade first, but he was unsure why. He decided to go ahead and pass by at least. When Darien arrived, he spoke with Andrew for a few minutes before going into a booth and drinking some coffee.

Serena decided to head back to the arcade after a few hours at home to collect herself since she knew Reagan would go to the arcade to meet her there after she was off of school and she didn't want to worry him. When she arrived, she didn't notice Darien sitting in the booth since Andrew greeted her, and she was just in time to catch Reagan walking in.

"Hey beautiful." He happily said walking up to Serena to give her a hug.

"Hey Reagan, I'm glad you're here!" She said smiling.

"What's wrong?" He noticed a soft glow of sadness about her.

"Nothing, I just have to talk to you." She said, wiping her face, unsure if she had streaks or not.

"What about?" He was afraid of her 'needing to talk' because that usually was code for 'we need to break up'.

"Something serious, but we can talk about it tonight, okay?"

"Sure, if that's what you want. I have a special night planned though for our one month anniversary." He said smiling.

"You, you remembered that?" She said, shocked he had something planned.

"Of course." He smiled, with a soothing touch to her cheek.

Darien could no longer stand just sitting and watching the events unfold in front of him. He walked over to them, and then through them. "Excuse me." he said, watching Serena's face grow pale, and shock cover her eyes.

"Serena, try not to take too long with this guy, you don't want to be late to our meeting." He said just before he opened the door to leave.

"Serena, what's he talking about?" He asked her, knowing full well this was her ex.

"Nothing, I promise I'll explain everything later."

"Are you really going to meet with him?" Reagan said in shock, as he looked at her, hoping he was lying.

"She sees me every day, hasn't she told you?" Darien said, surprised she hadn't 'told him everything'.

"I wasn't asking you! Don't you have somewhere to be?" Reagan said, turning toward Darien, anger clearly in his eyes.

"Actually I do, maybe Serena would like a ride?" Darien said, looking toward her.

"MY girlfriend, isn't going anywhere with you!" Reagan said, beginning to ball his fist. Serena was finally able to snap out of her shock and faced Darien, a look of hurt all over her face.

"What are you doing?" She asked Darien, clearly upset that he had been the one to tell Reagan that she still 'saw' him every day.

"It's better than walking or taking the bus. He looked at her, trying to reason with her to leave with him. "We shouldn't be late."

"I told you, she's not leaving with you! I'm going to take her there myself!"

"Fine, but that's where I'll be too." Darien said to his rival with a challenging look on his face. "You're not going to keep her away from me." He was trying to intimidate him, and by the furious look on Reagan's face, it wasn't working. In fact, if anything, it was only riling him up more.

"The hell you are, what, are you stalking her or something?" He said, feeling his anger beginning to boil.

"No, she's just drawn to me-" Darien said before he felt Reagan's fist collide with his face.

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **Thank you to all reviewers! You guys are awesome!

**Special Thanks/Mention: **xx Twilight Princess xx, Starrlight1812, Cassie Garcia, inufan155687, Ami-chanMercury98, loveinthebattlefield, and Doc-sama, and Sailor Rallison


	12. Chapter 12 Truth Can Hurt!

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Truth Can Hurt!**

**Chapter 12**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"MY girlfriend, isn't going anywhere with you!" Reagan said, beginning to ball his fist. Serena was finally able to snap out of her shock and faced Darien, a look of hurt all over her face.

"What are you doing?" She asked Darien, clearly upset that he had been the one to tell Reagan that she still 'saw' him every night.

"It's better than walking or taking the bus. He looked at her, trying to reason with her to leave with him. "We shouldn't be late."

"I told you, she's not leaving with you! I'm going to take her there myself!"

"Fine, but that's where I'll be too." Darien said to his rival with a challenging look on his face. "You're not going to keep her away from me." He was trying to intimidate him, and by the furious look on Reagan's face, it was working.

"The hell you are, what, are you stalking her or something?" He said, feeling his anger beginning to boil.

"No, she's just drawn to me-" Darien said before he felt Reagan's fist collide with his face.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 12**

"Reagan!" Serena shouted in shock after the punch was thrown. Darien was clearly unfazed, he stood unmoved in his place, only his head facing the right showed that he was attacked. He wasn't in training for nothing, plus, he was already ready to train since he saw Reagan walk through the door and wrap his arms around his love. Serena looked to Darien, and when she saw how angry he truly was, she began to be more frightened for Reagan. Reagan showed no sign of remorse, or fear for his own safety. His eyes narrowed, ready for more. He looked like a boxer, not only by the way he threw his punch, but by the stance he now took on as he neared Darien for 'round 2'.

"Kid, don't start something you know you can't finish." Darien said, glaring down at his 'opponent'. Serena didn't know what to do, or how to make the situation better. Everyone around began to watch what was happening. All of them wondering who would really win, since Reagan clearly LOOKED stronger than Darien, yet Darien didn't seem like the hit did anything to him at all. It was obvious Reagan put a large amount of strength into it.

"Speak for yourself, jackass." Reagan said, looking up at Darien, with sheer wrath in his red eyes, making him look more combative.

"Stop it! Both of you! Please stop!" Serena screamed, as she ran in between them. Just then, Andrew was seen coming from his place around the counter, going to help Serena.

"Guys, please. You don't want to do this." Andrew said, with a smile on his face, waving his arms as he stood back to back with Serena. It was quite a sight. Serena and Andrew, back to back, while Darien was on Serena's left, facing Reagan on her right. "It's enough guys, really. Darien, aren't you late to go to Rei's?" Andrew asked, with a hidden meaning that he knew only Darien would catch.

"Yeah, I am. I don't want to keep her waiting. I'll explain to the others why you didn't show up if your 'warden' doesn't let you out to play." Darien said, with a smirk toward Serena. She couldn't believe what was happening, but she was thankful Andrew was able to help by getting Darien to leave.

"Yeah, why don't you meet up with YOUR girlfriend and leave mine the hell alone!" Reagan called to Darien as he was opening the door to leave. Serena faced Reagan, unsure of how to respond or what would happen next. She was holding Reagan back with both hands as he called to Darien's back, and she felt a twinge of confusion when Reagan thought Rei was Darien's girlfriend.

"Reagan, please, calm down." Regan looked down at her, still upset about everything he heard, and not ready to let her off so easily.

"Every day Serena? You see him every freaking day! Even...even on our date nights?" His anger began to dissipate and his hurt was evident on his face. Serena began to cry, and she couldn't look Reagan in the eye as she answered his question truthfully.

"Yes, I do see him every day. But, you don't understand, it's not what you think!" Serena tried to reason before he got the wrong idea. He was unsure of how to go about his next move, the only thing he was certain of, is that they needed to talk, and now, not tonight.

"Serena, can we please go somewhere where we can talk?" He said, deciding to hear her out first, realizing he was too quick to throw a punch before he knew the facts. He really cared about her, and his emotions simply ambushed his brain.

"Yes, please. I would like that very much." She responded as she was trying to wipe her eyes from her tears.

"Let's go for a drive." He opened the door, and led Serena out, following closely behind her, and opening the car door for her, as he always did. Once they were a block away from the arcade, she began to explain.

"Reagan, I'm sorry." She started.

"Just tell me this, do you still have feelings for him?"

"I...I...yes, but it has nothing to do with us!"

"How the hell can you say that? It has everything to do with us! Do you really think we have a chance of being together when you have feelings for another man?"

"You don't understand!" She held her face with her hands and clenched her eyes shut as she tried to sort out the thoughts in her mind.

"Why did you even agree to go out with me? It's obvious he still has feelings for you, too." Reagan said, focusing on the road.

"I don't want to be with him, I want to be with you!"

"Why? Why would you want to be with me when you could finally have what you want, him."

"He's not what I want, I thought he was, but I just want you Reagan!"

"How can you be so sure! You see him every freaking day!" He felt his temper starting to rise again, and was glad he was driving to the top of the hill, into a parking lot, overlooking Tokyo. He tried to sort through his thoughts as well, not being able to focus on one specific reason for his anger, there were so many in his mind. The only think he knew, was that he was falling for this woman, and there was nothing he could do about it. From the moment he first laid eyes on her, he was smitten. She didn't even notice he was alive, and he 'gave up'. After she told him she was available again, he couldn't pass up his chance, but his own insecurities made him doubt the possibilities of his 'dreams' coming true. Both stayed silent for the rest of the car ride. Neither knowing what to say, and not wanting to break their train of thoughts. Both afraid of what the other was thinking. Finally, they arrived, and Reagan parked closest to the edge, with a beautiful view over Tokyo. He got out of the car, and leaned on his hood. Serena exited after a moment of thinking, then decided to join him, also leaning on the car, facing the scenery.

"It's beautiful." she said, in awe of the perfect day shining on the city.

"You should see it at night. I planned to bring you here to see the sunset today. It was going to be the first of our day of activities." he said, not turning to face her, unsure if he'd ever have that day with her now. She blushed, her eyes still not dry, and after hearing his comment, tearing up once more.

"I, I want to tell you everything." She said, as she watched him near the railing of the cliff. Putting his hands on it, and staring out into nothing in particular.

"I'm listening." He said, not turning around.

"Please don't say anything until I tell you everything. I'm sure you're not going to like what you hear..." He didn't respond, he just continued to gaze into the city. "Okay, I do see him every day, but it's not just the two of us. It's Rei, Ami, Lita, Mina, Darien and myself. It's just our study group, all we do is study." He eyed her, hoping that really was all it was. He turned and put his back to the railing.

"Why is Darien involved if it's mostly girls? And isn't he in college? Why is he studying with a bunch of Middle School-ers?"

"Well, we are all taking our high school entrance exams, and he's helping us. Not to mention, he and Ami are both going for the same goal, so it's nice for Ami to have the advantage of getting advice from Darien." She answered, hoping what she had said made sense.

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"I should have, I know, but I guess I just got scared. I didn't want you to think that I was trying to hide something from you on purpose, but the longer I prolonged it, the worse it seemed. It got to the point where I just wasn't going to tell you at all, and just leave the group and study by myself." She looked down, remembering the cyborg and the location she had chosen earlier.

"Well I wish you had told me! He caught me off guard. I'm sorry, I know I overreacted. It must be in my blood. We're known for starting fights and drinking after all. It's why I've sworn off alcohol, without even taking a sip. I want to break the stereotype. What he said though, I didn't see it coming at all."

"Your blood?"

"Yeah, Irish, haven't you heard of the stereotype before?"

"No, I think you're the first Irish person I've ever met."

"That's not surprising, since we are in Tokyo. Also, O'Brien..."

"Your last name? What about it?"

"I come from a long line of O'Brien's, we are related to royalty, or so the stories go. We were the kings and queens of Ireland. Not to mention my first name means 'Regal'."

"Regal royalty?" Serena chuckled to herself after she said it, but she must admit, she could see the connection.

"I'm really sorry about how I acted, my temper has always been something I've been trying to work on."

"It's okay, everyone has their flaws, the point is you're trying to better yourself, that's the real thing to focus on. Everyone has a slip once in a while. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."

"So that's not what you wanted to talk to me about then..." He realized, as he turned back to the sights, as he took a deep breath, ready to hear the real news she wanted to tell him.

"No. What I wanted to tell you about was yesterday. I tried to find you after trai...er...study group. It turned out there was a storm by the time I got there, and saw you were at a convention. The store was closed, so I went to the arcade for shelter. I didn't know Darien was there, I'm so afraid of thunder storms." He turned back around to face her, and said nothing. He just walked up to her and held her, thinking how badly he wished he was there to 'rescue' her from the storm. Angered by the fact that 'someone else' was. "Reagan, I'm so sorry." He pulled her back, to look at her face.

"Why?" he was looking directly into her eyes, as if her cerulean orbs would reveal what happened like crystal balls. She decided not to blame Darien, things were said, and she wasn't completely faultless.

"Because we kissed." She said, ready for anything he would respond with. He didn't respond at all, he just stared at her, in shock. Millions of thoughts going through his head, too many responses to choose from. "Reagan, I'm so sorry! I was angry afterwards, I didn't expect to catch myself in that situation, I swear it will never happen again!" She tried to comfort him, unsure what his lack of response meant. "Reagan, if you don't want to see me anymore, I'll understand. You've been so good to me, I hate myself for doing that to you."

"Serena, how did it happen?" It was the only question that kept repeating itself in his thoughts.

"I'm not sure. I just remember he was holding me because I had grabbed him when a lightning bolt struck the arcade and the lights went out, I was so scared, I know I shouldn't have done it, but I did. Please, say you can forgive me." She said, burying her face into his chest and crying. He pushed her back, turning his back to her.

"Serena, there's something I wanted to tell you tonight, that I'm not sure if I can tell you anymore." He looked at the ground, his hurt reopened by the events revealed to him.

"Please Reagan, you can tell me anything." She said sweetly to his back, trying to sooth him back to her.

"No Serena, I can't. I don't know if it matters anymore. I don't know if I still want to tell you." He looked, numb, lifeless. As if a youma had gotten to him and sucked the life out of him.

"Please Reagan, don't think like that. Please. Reagan...I want you." She didn't realize she had said it, she just let her feelings take over. After she said it, she began to realize it was true. Was it possible? She was in love with two men? She knew she still loved Darien, but she was determined to not let go of Reagan, she knew she spoke the truth when she said she wanted him. Reagan was in shock for what felt like the millionth time that day. He turned and faced her soft blue eyes, and knew she was holding nothing back. If she said what happened between her and Darien was a one-time thing, damn him if he was wrong, but he believed her. Trusting her was going to be a whole other story, he didn't think he'd ever feel comfortable with her around him again. He knew they had a connection, and until he broke it, he didn't trust HIM with her.

"Serena, I want to be with you too. It's just that, I don't know how to recover from this. I don't know if I can trust him around you. Actually, I know I can't. I'd rather not take the risk." Reagan said, holding her once more.

"I understand." She said, holding onto his arms, and holding herself into his chest as he held her lovingly. "Ami has been working on a program to allow me to study without the need of being in the group, I think that will be enough." She thought of not seeing Darien, and wondered how much she would miss him. She knew there was no escaping running into Tuxedo Mask when necessary, but she hoped it wouldn't come to that, since it had been quiet for a while.

"So, since we're together already, would you like to start our date?"

"Definitely, if you still want to that is..."

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't willing." They went back to the car and he drove them to a festival in Kitakyushu. "This is our first stop." He said, smiling at her. "This is the Tobata Gion Yamagasa festival. We're going straight to Nishi where we'll have a great view of the floats." They spent the day watching the parades and enjoying the floats on the water. Before Serena knew it, the whole waterfront was covered in beautiful lights, making it look as bright as day with their beautiful designs and artwork. When it was dinner time, he treated her to the finest restaurant around the area, and ordered her three meals, knowing her appetite. He ended back to where they started on the hill in between Tokyo and Nishi, and now Serena could see the beauty that Reagan had spoke of before.

"It's so beautiful." She couldn't believe her eyes, she'd never seen so much culture and beauty in one day.

"It's beauty falters when compared to yours." He said as he held her from behind and they both looked at each other. Before she realized what was happening, she found herself leaning in for her first kiss with him. When their lips met, she felt herself melt into his embrace. Darien was the furthest thing from her mind in that moment. This day was all about Reagan, and he made certain they weren't around anything that would trigger any memory of him. She felt her spine tingle as she leaned into him, trying to deepen the kiss. He complied willingly, and they were entranced with their feelings for each other. When they finally separated they were both breathless in the best way imaginable. She was blushing, immensely, and so was he, but he didn't turn away like she did. He hugged her so she could hide her face in his arms. She was surprised at how happy, and complete she felt with him.

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **Thank you to all reviewers! You guys are awesome!

**Special Thanks/Mention:** inufan155687, AimlesslyGera, xx Twilight Princess, Cassie Garcia, halethee, loveinthebattlefield, Ami-chanMercury98, and PrettyVchan


	13. Chapter 13 What's This I'm Feeling?

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**What's This I'm Feeling?**

**Chapter 13**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"It's beauty falters when compared to yours." He said as he held her from behind and they both looked at each other. Before she realized what was happening, she found herself leaning in for her first kiss with him. When their lips met, she felt herself melt into his embrace. Darien was the furthest thing from her mind in that moment. This day was all about Reagan, and he made certain they weren't around anything that would trigger any memory of him. She felt her spine tingle as she leaned into him, trying to deepen the kiss. He complied willingly, and they were entranced with their feelings for each other. When they finally separated they were both breathless in the best way imaginable. She was blushing, immensely, and so was he, but he didn't turn away like she did. He hugged her so she could hide her face in his arms. She was surprised at how happy, and complete she felt with him.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 13**

After their tender moment at the viewpoint, they got back in the car, both happy with how the night turned out. Five minutes into the drive, he reached over and held her hand. "Serena, I just want to clear some last minute details." She looked at him with curious eyes, wondering what his looming doubts were. "Well, so are we officially boyfriend and girlfriend now?" She smiled at his insecurity.

"I don't kiss every guy I meet! Yes, we are officially a couple, if that makes you feel better." He squeezed her hand a little tighter at the news.

"Last question, we're exclusive right?" He asked, hoping this last answer would silence the fears and doubts he felt in his heart. She laughed again, realizing how serious he was about her, and his obvious commitment made her heart soar.

"Yes Darien, we're exclusive." She smiled as she patted his hand with her other hand.

"What? Who did you just call me?" He said, stung by the name she had said. Once he brought it up, she realized her mistake. She covered her mouth with both hands, in both embarrassment and shame.

"Reagan. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry!" She apologized profusely.

"I have to ask, so did he break up with you, or did you break up with him?" Since he was already brought up, he figured he better not pass up the chance to get his questions answered, now that he was calm and level headed. She began to blush, hoping that no matter which answer she gave, she wouldn't lose him.

"Well, he said we were too young to be together, and that if we were still interested in a commitment after I turned 18, then we would be."

"So he broke up with you because of your age?" She tried to be aloof with the word 'break up' but he kept bringing it up.

"You could say that." She said as she turned away to look at the scenery they drove by.

"So you were in love with him, and he didn't believe you could be." It was more of statement then a question. He sounded like he knew something about the experience. Serena was unsure if this was a time to go into his pain or not.

"Reagan, have you ever been in love?" She asked, cautiously as she faced him, and prepared herself for his answer.

"Yes. Once before. A few years ago, when I was 14." He answered as he was taken back to the moment, and he could feel his heart's wound reopen once more.

"What happened?" She asked cautiously, yet eager to hear the tale.

"Well, I've been in and out of hospitals since I was little. As far back as I can remember, there's always been SOMETHING wrong with me. There was a girl, that was two years older than me, that I seemed to always run into when I was there. She was terminally ill. Every time I went in, I'd always visit with her for a while. You couldn't tell anything was wrong with her by the look of her. She was real nice, and sweet, you remind me a lot of her." He looked at her and smiled as he took up her hand once more and gave it a small squeeze. "I didn't know she was a 'lifer' and we'd always talk about our future together, and how we'd always be friends. Then, the last time I saw her, we were talking like always. Then, she just started yelling at me to stop dreaming, and how life was never fair, and how I didn't know what love was. She said I needed to stop 'playing house' and grow up. I looked up at her on her bed from my chair and told her my love for her was as real as me there right in front of her. She said I was wrong and she didn't want to see me anymore because I just brought her too much pain. I didn't understand what she meant, I didn't want to leave her, I loved her so much. But I did what she asked, I thought she just needed some time to 'cool off' or think or something. But the next week when I went to check on her she was gone. The nurse told me they buried her two days prior. I was too late because I couldn't 'be in love'. Apparently I found out later that she told her family about me, and they told her that we were too young to be in love. They decided to 'talk some sense into her' and forbade me from going into her room anymore, she begged her parents to just let her say goodbye, and that was when she turned me away. I found out the truth when the nurse gave me a letter that her parents left for me. It was a hand written letter from her, to her parents, and to me. She said they were wrong to hold back our love and she wished, even for the short time she was here, they would have let us be happy. She wrote that she really did love me, and she was sorry if she hurt me. She wanted me to know she was hurt too." He stopped speaking as he began to tear up at the memory. Serena didn't know what to say, it was all just too sad. She didn't know what she'd do if she lost Darien, but she knew her situation was much different. Sure she had lost Darien on the moon, just as suddenly, and they were in love, but how courageous Reagan must be to be able to move on, and live, for the both of them. She had just given up and killed herself, unwilling to move on. She knew what strength and torment he must have endured through that experience.

"Reagan, I'm so sorry." She whispered into the car as the silence took over.

"It was a long time ago." He said, as he tried not to talk about the subject anymore. She understood and didn't bring up the subject anymore. When he reached Serena's driveway, he opened the door for her, and walked her to her porch. It wasn't too late when they got back, so Serena decided to study since she had cut all the time that she was supposed to study out of the day. "Another beautiful evening with a beautiful lady." he said as he hugged her goodbye, and kissed her hand before returning to his car. She smiled and hurried inside before her dad decided to make a scene. When she was inside, she decided to make a call to Ami and ask about the Cyborg.

"Hello?" She heard Ami's soft voice answer the phone.

"Ami? It's me, Serena."

"Oh, hi Serena."

"Hi, I just called to ask about the cyborg, is it finished yet?"

"Yeah, I brought it today, but you didn't show up. Darien said that he had a confrontation with Reagan and you probably wouldn't show up after what happened, but he didn't give any details."

"Oh, well, yeah, that wasn't very fun. I'll have to fill you in tomorrow, right now I wanted to talk to you about the cyborg." Serena began twirling the phone line in her fingers as she spoke, cautious of anyone in her family trying to listen in.

"Well, it's fully functional and has multiple settings and has a network connection to the command center, and runs with a i5-480M Intel core!"

"Ami, you might as well be speaking Korean. I don't understand any of that stuff! Listen, I picked out a training ground for myself, and I was wondering if you could follow me to it after school tomorrow and we can talk about it more then."

"Sure Serena, if that's what you want." Ami sounded disappointed that all her hard work was falling on deaf ears.

"Thanks Ami, you're a lifesaver! See you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye Serena." After Serena hung up she ran to her room and quickly got to studying and then bed, anxious for the next day because there was so much to do.

On the way to the temple, Darien was furious at what happened at the Arcade, and couldn't wait for training to start. He planned on having a long conversation with Rei after he left all his irritation on the training grounds. He was unsure of how to explain to the others what happened and why Serena was most likely not going to show up for training today. When he arrived, he was a bit cooler, but still very upset.

"Hey Darien, did you happen to see Serena on the way here?" Mina asked as she and Lita stopped their conversation about guys and focused on him.

"Yeah, I did. And I doubt she'll show up for training today." He could feel his anger flaring up again.

"Why? What happened?" Lita asked, concerned.

"I saw her at the Arcade, with Reagan, and things didn't go well. Reagan and I got into it, and I don't think he likes the idea that she sees me every day." He said, scratching the back of his head, unsure how the girls would take it.

"How did they know she sees you every day?" Mina asked, confused how he knew.

"Because I told him when I wanted to give Serena a ride to training today." He said shamelessly.

"You what! You told a civilian about our training?" Ami was thinking about the backlash it would cause.

"No, I said we were all in a study group, calm down Ami, everything is fine." He said, still with spite in his voice.

"So what happened?" Mina asked.

"I don't want to talk about it. Serena may not show up today, let's just leave it at that." The girls decided not to test him, hearing the bitterness in his voice.

"But the cyborg, it's finally finished..." She said, obviously disappointed.

"It's alright Ami, you know Serena is bound to use it eventually." Mina tried to comfort her. Rei said nothing, unsure if this would change his mind about the call he made to her the night before. She had too much on her mind, and was happy to be distracted by focusing on training.

"Well, shall we start?" Darien said, already transformed and anxious for the battle to begin.

"So you versus all of us then?" Rei said, knowing he had the energy for it right now.

"I was hoping." He said with a smirk to Rei. They all transformed and began training. By the end, everyone was winded and exhausted except Darien. They had been training for 3 hours straight. Darien healed them, and wanted to start over, but the girls were unwilling.

"How bout I just set the cyborg up for you? Then we can see exactly what the limits and malfunctions are, if any." Ami said, happy that she'd be able to see her work in action.

"Yeah, sure. Okay."

"Just remember, it has all of our abilities and speed. If it's too easy for you, I could just change the settings."

"Sounds great! Let's start." Darien was still ready for battle and was ready to see what his REAL limits could be, with actually hitting back, and not having to fight defensively for fear of seriously injuring the girls with his sword. He could heal, yes. But he'd rather not risk his limits on his friends. After three more hours of watching Darien go at it with the cyborg, and getting necessary details and information for her logs, Ami decided Darien had trained enough, and he was forced to call it a night. He was happy he managed to train as much as he had though. Ami was worried about how his body would react to the rigorous training the following day. She informed him that she would call him some time the following day to see how he felt. Then shut down the cyborg, and left to study. Mina and Lita took off an hour before her, bored of watching him and decided to get a bite to eat and get ready for their dates. When Rei was left, she noticed Darien walking toward the stairway and seating himself, looking at the moon. She walked up to him, feeling sorry for him yet again.

"So are you still sure you want to go through with our plan?" She asked as she seated herself next to him.

"Definitely. Why? Are you having doubts?" He asked, suddenly scared that his plan would fall apart without her. She just shook her head no.

"I just want you to be sure that this is the course you want to take to get her back. I'll back you up, but that still doesn't make it right. Just make sure you know what you're doing and don't scare her away." Rei said, afraid his jealousy would get the better of him.

"I know what I want, and I'm not willing to let it go so easily." He said as he clenched his fist, still gazing at the moon.

"Can I asked what happened? Or are you still too peeved to talk about it?" She asked, preparing for him to yell at her or something equally defensive. He just smiled at her as he looked to her, ready to reveal the events.

"Why would you do that!" She shouted at him when he told her everything that happened.

"I couldn't help it! Something inside me just went off!" He continued to smile, reliving the events, and turning back to the moon.

"Darien, you can't act like that again, you're going to lose her." She said, full of concern.

"You know, there's one thing that really made me feel better. It's why you scared me when I thought you wanted to back out now."

"What's that?"

"Reagan called you my 'girlfriend' and I saw Serena's face when he said it. It was a look of pure fear, and realization. This plan is going to work Rei, I'm sure of it."

"I hope you're right Darien, for your own sake. I don't like what this whole thing is doing to you. What if he forbade her to go near you and she agreed, how would this plan help you then?"

"There's always word of mouth, the scouts won't keep secrets from her. All we really have to do is put on a show for them." She didn't like the sound of it, but she was focusing on alternatives, if his plan fell through.

"Okay, and what if you did things for her instead of against her? What if you're going about this the wrong way?"

"What other way is there?"

"Well, you've only been her enemy and her love, how about being her friend?" Rei said, blushing at her own comment.

"That's not such a bad idea, but is there any reason I can't do both? Isn't it more likely that I'd want to be her friend if I had someone else?"

"Hmmmm, I guess that does make sense." She said, realizing he had a point. Maybe he wasn't just thinking with his heart after all. "So you really think this is going to work?" She said, with hope in her heart.

"Well, I hope it is. I'm sure we'll find out." He smiled at her, and remembered what Andrew had told him. "Rei, this isn't going to be too difficult for you is it? I know how much Serena means to you. I also remember how hard you were trying for us to be a couple before." He said, lowering his gaze to the stairs below. She didn't speak for a moment, contemplating on what to say to him.

"I can't say that your separation from her didn't bring back questions about my feelings for you. I never did get any closure."

"I'm sorry for that."

"No need to apologize. I just mean I couldn't compete with what you guys had. It really sucked for a while, knowing no matter what I would have done, I wouldn't be good enough. Then I figured that it was okay, because nothing on Heaven and Earth could separate you two. I convinced myself, if it wasn't her, it would have been me. Even when I heard the news, I can't say it didn't cross my mind. I thought that if she could move on, then maybe you could too. But it really just doesn't seem right, you two not together. Almost unnatural. I realize now that I've just been fooling myself. Even if I did love you, I highly doubt it would compare to the love you and her share."

"I'm sorry Rei." She shook her head from side to side once more.

"Don't be sorry." She had tears in her eyes, but didn't notice. "I'm sure I'll find someone some day that will love me just as much as you love her. In fact, I don't think I'll settle for anything less."

"Is there anything I can do? To help with the closure at all?"

"Just tell me I'll never compare to her. Tell me you'll never love anyone else. Tell me why no one else can replace her." Darien looked back up at the moon, as Rei's tears began to fall, as she searched the skies for answers.

"Rei, I can't tell you that. You have your own qualities, and your own strengths. Maybe it's the whole 'opposites attract' thing. I just know I never will love anyone else, and no one can replace her. But it's not because you're not beautiful in your own right, or because you're not as kind. It's because I can't change what's in my heart. 'The heart wants what it wants'."

"It's okay, I understand. I think that's the closure I've always been hoping to hear. Thank you for being so kind."

"Rei, I'm not kind at all. I mean, you're seeing for yourself all the trouble I'm causing her. I don't know why I can't stop myself. Maybe if I'd taken your advice sooner and became her friend while she was dating around, she'd have come back to me by now."

"I don't think there's any problem with what's happening right now. Whatever happens can only make your relationship stronger. I still believe you were right to do what you did. Darien, I know you love her, but she really was treating you unfairly. I think you've just been blinded by your love for her. You're just doing what's right. 'When you love something, you have to learn to let it go. If it comes back, that's how you know' right?"

"I guess. When did you get so smart? I thought Ami had the right to all the brains." He gave her a chuckle, feeling better about everything.

"We all have our moments."

"Hey Rei, how bout I train alone so Serena can come back and train with you guys. I think that cyborg is going to help me more than Serena."

"I'm not so sure, I think Serena holds back sometimes because she doesn't want to hurt us either, and without you there to heal, she may hold back more."

"Hmmmmm, I'm going to have to ask Ami if she can make me one of those too then. I don't want to take her away from you guys. Plus, I'm sure there's a few things she can still learn from you guys, even if you guys really can't land a hit on her. Like basic self defense, instead of just dodging like you guys said."

"Yeah, I can really see that thing pummeling her to the ground without Ami there to supervise."

"Yeah, I better go soon, I don't want to keep you up all night."

"Goodnight Darien."

"Goodnight." He watched her turn her back to him and head to her room. He turned his head back around and continued to look at the sky. "Well, not much left to do now. I'd better head home and deal with the damage I did to my body today." He thought aloud as he headed to his car.

The next day Serena went to school and filled all the girls in on the details during lunch. They were all shocked and 'oooh'ed and 'ahhhh'ed at different moments of her story. "Ami, that's why I need the cyborg. It's not fair to Reagan if I spend time with Darien around, even if it doesn't mean anything. I have to give it my all one way or the other. It's the only way I'll know for sure." The girls couldn't argue with her, they knew she had a point.

"But Serena, Ami will still be able to see you because she tutors you, but what about us?" Lita said, upset she wouldn't get to spend any 'girl time' with one of her best friends.

"It's not like I'll be completely gone guys! We still have lunch! And I'm sure I can throw a girls night in there at least once a month! I'll even invite Rei!" She said with a smile for the group. But that didn't lift their spirits, they already felt a dark cloud covering their little patch of light. "Look, I'm not sure how long this will last, but I just can't afford for him to lose his trust in me right now. This means a lot to me." She said, trying to get the girls to understand.

"Okay, I understand." Mina was the first to speak up, sadness evident in her voice, but also understanding.

"So Ami, let's head over to the training spot I picked out after school and when you're done training, we can talk about the possibilities while we study."

"You mean while I tutor you?" Ami said, clarifying Serena's statement. Serena's head fell while a big drop of sweat appeared above her head.

"Yes Ami, that's what I meant." She said defeated.

After school Serena showed Ami the various spots where she thought she could train in privacy. Ami was surprised at the wise choices Serena made for her training sessions. Then Serena headed to the arcade for a few minutes, so she could catch Reagan on his break for their routine 'meet up' before she went home and started on her homework to kill time until Ami got there.

When Ami got to Rei's temple, she could see Darien there, anxious to speak with her. "Wow Darien, I didn't expect you to be waiting to see me, of all people." She said blushing.

"Why? You've been helping me with my training the most." He said, smiling softly at her. It never ceased to amaze him how self-conscious the girls were about themselves. They really never did give themselves enough credit.

"I don't know, I just didn't I guess."

"Well, I really wanted to ask you if you could build me a cyborg like you did for Serena, so that way Reagan won't have to be jealous that I train with you guys. I could just train on my own." His comment caught her off guard. She had just been talking about the same thing with Serena!

"Well, I suppose I could, and it would be much easier since I have all the specifications and blueprints from hers. Also, since you can heal yourself, I suppose it would make more sense for her to train with us in case something goes wrong huh?" she pondered the idea, and was surprised at how much sense it made. "Okay, sure. Sounds like a great plan, I can probably have it done in a week."

"Sounds great. Until then, what do you think of Rei coming over to my house while you guys train, so she can teach me how to meditate?" he said, already thinking through how the rumors would spread.

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea too. Meditation skills would work great with your abilities." Ami was obviously not thinking of the dangers, just the benefits.

"Perfect, I'll head home now, and you guys can call Serena over to practice. Who knows how out of it she is since she hasn't trained correctly in a while." he said, as he looked over at Rei, waiting to hear her say she was going with him.

"Um, I guess I should start training him on his meditation now then?" Rei asked Ami with a blush on her face.

"Yes, I don't see why not, and that way everyone will get some type of training in. I'm surprised I didn't see it myself." She said, shocked it wasn't herself who thought of it.

"I'll call Serena over now." Mina said, not liking the sound of Rei going over to Darien's at all, and anxious to hear what Serena would think of the whole thing."

All Mina told her on the phone was that Darien was not there, and that she would be able to train with them today. She also told her she would fill her in on details when she got there. Serena was happy to see her friends again, but she noticed right away that Rei didn't scold her for taking so long to get there. "Where's Rei?" She asked, and the girls all looked at her, unsure how to tell her what the new plan was.

**To Be Continued...**

**Special Thanks/Mention:** PrettyVchan, xx Twilight Princess xx, loveinthebattlefield, and BeautyoftheTerra.


	14. Chapter 14 Lone Warrior

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Lone Warrior**

**Chapter 14**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"I'll call Serena over now." Mina said, not liking the sound of Rei going over to Darien's at all, and anxious to hear what Serena would think of the whole thing.

All Mina told her on the phone was that Darien was not there, and that she would be able to train with them today. She also told her she would fill her in on the details when she got there. Serena was happy to see her friends again, but she noticed right away that Rei didn't scold her for taking so long to get there. "Where's Rei?" She asked, the girls all looked at her, unsure how to tell her what the new plan was.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 14**

Ami was the first to answer, always the logical one. "Rei went over to Darien's place. We're trying out some new training techniques with him, and she's going to teach him to meditate, and since you can't be around him she's going to teach him at his place, so that we can still all train here."

"What? But...um...okay..." Serena had no excuse why it shouldn't happen, but she still felt a 'zing' in her heart at hearing it.

"Also Serena, Darien will no longer be training with us so you can come back permanently." Mina said, trying to stop Serena from the negative thoughts of him.

"Why? He doesn't have to do that...I was already planning on training by myself." Serena said, sad that she may have chased Darien away from the rest of the scouts. "So is he just going to train with Rei from now on?"

"Don't be silly Serena. Meditation is all about effort, not training. Once she teaches him, which will probably take a week, he'll probably use one of your training ground 'spots' to train with the cyborg I'm going to build him, and Rei will be back to training with us." Ami spoke with confidence. She thought the plan was perfect, she couldn't understand why Serena was being so uncooperative with the arrangement. Serena felt a bit of relief, but it escaped Ami's attention. Only Mina really caught it.

"I still don't see why he isn't training with you guys." Serena said, trying to understand Darien's point of view.

"Well, the bottom line is we both realized it would be better for you to train with us. In case the cyborg has bugs. I can make adjustments and you won't get hurt. If Darien gets hurt, he'll be able to heal himself. It's just better all around, that's all." Serena began to understand and Ami finally finished explaining.

"We'll have to visit him though." Lita said, almost already missing him. He was the only one that could relate to having parents killed at a young age. Her parents had died in a plane crash when she was younger, and now she lived in her own place. They didn't talk often, but in the past months, they did find time to 'bond' and almost therapeutically help each other by relating to one another. It was nice to know someone else knew how she was feeling sometimes, when no one else understood, and she was overwhelmed with sadness.

"Please do, I...I hope he doesn't get lonely." That was Serena's worst fear. Now that she had found him, she never wanted him to be alone again. At the same time, she was afraid of him spending time with Rei. She would tell herself she didn't care, and she was finally getting what she wanted, but she couldn't convince her heart. It was honestly frustrating her to no end. The more her heart pushed her to Darien, the more she wanted to have a normal love life with Reagan. She was conflicted and painfully so, her decisions affecting more people every time she thought about it. She trusted Rei like a sister, but even sisters were known to steal boyfriends. She knew she didn't have any claim to him right now, and she couldn't think of who'd she'd prefer him to be with, in the end, she smiled. Rei was better than some strange bimbo off the street, and with the scouts she'd always have some kind of tie to him.

"We'll make sure at least one of us visits him daily." Mina smiled at her. Mina was also going to miss her connection with him. A sort of 'line' into the guy world. She often asked Darien about why guys did the things they did. From what she could tell, not only was he honest, but his answers always made sense. Serena smiled back, appreciating the effort they were making for her. She never realized, the scouts now thought of him as a true friend to them too, and not just Serena's boyfriend or ex.

"So, are we done talking and ready to train?" Ami asked, anxious to see Serena's abilities finally really tested. She's the only one who really didn't seem worried about anything. She genuinely felt that everything would work out the way it should. Everyone nodded in agreement and they split off Lita with Mina pairing up, and Ami setting up and monitoring the cyborg. She had the cyborg set up for test mode, after which, she focused on training herself, while the cyborg mostly observed Serena and waited for her to attack, measuring her abilities, and Ami was reading a book on different fighting styles. She was trying to expand her physical abilities, since she was the weakest one when it came to hand-to-hand combat. After an hour of observing, the cyborg finally made a few moves toward Serena. Ami knew her 'student' well, and she made it a priority to have the cyborg work up slowly enough that Serena wouldn't notice how good she actually got, it would come naturally.

The week went by quickly, with the routine in place. Serena felt strange not seeing Darien every day anymore. She wasn't sure what to make of it, yet still committed to not letting Reagan down. When Rei was finally back for training, she was anxious to ask her how he was doing. Rei wasn't sure how much effort she'd have to put in for the plan to work, but she knew Serena not seeing him would make it a lot easier to fulfill, or at least she hoped. Ami, and Mina started to train, while Lita was waiting for Rei, as Ami had instructed who would be in pairs when Rei got back beforehand.

"Rei! Welcome back! How is Darien doing?" Rei blushed. Knowing the answer she and Darien talked about for just such a question.

"Um, he's doing well. I'm actually going to stop by after training to check on him too."

"Oh, is it your turn? Shouldn't you get a break since you were with him all last week?" Serena said, a bit confused, hoping she was overreacting when she pictured Darien and Rei together.

"Um, yeah, but, we are sort of enjoying spending time together." Rei blushed after she said it, but it helped her situation. Serena wasn't sure how to respond, all she was sure of, was that she wasn't comfortable with Rei visiting with him so often.

"So who are you going with after training?" Serena asked, hoping she wasn't visiting him alone.

"I'm going by myself, what's it to you meatball head?" Rei was getting a little more than embarrassed. She was getting frustrated with Serena being so possessive, and wanting two guys at once. Serena was in shock, she didn't think Rei would get offended, and the flush in her face told her more than she wanted to know.

"Okay Rei, I'm sorry. You're right. It's not my business. But Rei, if it had to be someone, I'm glad it's you." Serena had tears in her eyes and turned away as she ran to the cyborg to train. Rei felt badly for her, but she was also angry that she just seemed to accept the fact that she was with Darien. She could see her feelings were clearly hurt, but that didn't change the fact that she wasn't fighting for her man! She began to realize how loving a person Serena really was. She just wanted everyone to be happy, even if it hurt her, she truly didn't have a single bad bone in her body. Rei realized she would most likely not fight her for Darien, she had to tell him that their plan was doomed for failure. Darien on the other hand, was blinded by wanting her back, and wouldn't give up on the 'plan' so easily. She pondered her options, as she was partnered with Lita to train. Lita easily saw the stress on Rei's face, and wasn't sure whether to ask her about it or not. Finally, they took a break after a couple hours, and Rei walked into the fire room to contemplate what she should do. Lita followed her in, and asked her why she was so distracted. She didn't want to go back on the plan, so she told Lita that she and Darien had begun dating.

"I knew it!" Lita said, anger evident in her voice. "I knew you would do this Rei! How could you? And to one of your best friends!"

"Hey, I was with him before Serena got her memories back from the Moon Kingdom! I've always been attracted to him! Now that they're not together, why shouldn't we?"

"Because you know it's not right! You know they belong together!"

"If that's so true, then why can't Serena see it? Why is she still with Reagan, why is she torturing him? Look, I know you've gotten closer to Darien, we all have. Can you honestly tell me that you're okay with Darien being alone while she's with Reagan? And you said I didn't have a heart! You're the one who can easily bare to see him in such pain without her! The meditation is helping him, he's finding it a lot easier to control his emotions, but that doesn't make it any easier to watch him suffer! Not to me at least!"

"Rei, you know we all care about him, but this whole situation doesn't feel right." Lita saw Rei tearing up, and realized how strongly and badly she felt for Darien. "We just want them back together." Lita tried to comfort.

"You don't think if she told me she wanted him back I'd give him back? And willingly! The bottom line is she doesn't want him, not now at least. Lita, she gave me her 'blessing' to be with him! I couldn't believe it!" Lita was in shock. She couldn't believe what Rei was saying, but at the same time, she knew it to be true.

"Are you serious?" Rei just nodded her head in agreement. "Do you think she doesn't care about him anymore?" This time she shook her head no in response.

"I don't think that's the case at all. I think she's just that loving a person. She loves all of us, and if Darien and I can make each other happy, then she's not going to fight for him." Lita understood what Rei was saying, but she couldn't believe, knowing why Serena would accept it, she still seemed content with Darien.

"Rei, I may of accused you before, but I do know you. This isn't you. Something's going on. Spill." Rei began to blush profusely and turned away.

"I don't know what you mean." She wiped her tears from her face.

"Look at yourself! Whatever is going on is tearing you apart! If you were really with Darien, you wouldn't be so torn up about you being with him!" Rei didn't know what to say, she was caught, and she knew it. She knew Darien wouldn't be happy with the scouts in on their little scheme, but what if only one knew? It would also help to have someone to talk to about her situation. She decided it best to tell Lita, but it wouldn't go past her, or so she hoped. She then told Lita everything. Lita was in shock to say the least, but she was glad to see that Rei hadn't really betrayed her friend. She saw Darien's plan and thought it would work also, they just needed time, and a few well placed 'seeds of deception' which she was more than willing to plant.

"Lita, you're the only one that can know. I can't risk anyone else, including the other scouts, knowing. I don't know how Darien's going to react to you knowing as it is."

"Yeah, I got it. No worries." Lita knew that she forced it out of her, but she wouldn't let any of the other scouts do the same. She would now protect their secret, for their sake, and Serena's. After they walked out they found the other scouts around the cyborg drinking some juices.

"Where were you guys?" Mina asked innocently.

"I just had to tell Rei how I felt about her and Darien dating." She responded honestly.

"Lita!" Serena said, embarrassed about Lita trying to keep Darien single for her sake. "Darien shouldn't be alone! I'm happy that he can be happy with someone, just like I am." Serena said, blushing at the truth. Mina looked at Serena, and decided to really see if she can read how Serena really felt.

"Serena, how do you feel about Darien right now? Have your feelings for him changed?" Mina asked, trying to get to the bottom of her heartache.

"No, not at all. Mina, I just want him to be happy. I can't say that I'm not happy with Reagan."

"Are you falling for Reagan? "

"I...yes. I know I am."

"Is being a normal teenager that important to you? Are you forcing yourself to fall for another man, just to have some type of normalcy?"

"No! It's not like that! I just, I honestly feel a connection to him."

"But you have a strong connection to Darien! Serena, I'm sorry, but please, just help me understand!" Mina begged. She saw no benefit to this. She couldn't understand how she could love another man enough to rival her love for Darien.

"I don't know Mina! I can't understand it myself! I just know Reagan makes me happy, and I'm not ready to let go of that. I don't know if I'll ever be able to."

"So you're saying you want him more than Darien?"

"Right now? Yeah. But only because I know there's something there that I can't ignore."

"I thought that's how you felt about Darien! He wanted to get back with you before you were even dating Reagan. I just can't understand why you'd turn him down before you even knew if Reagan would want to be with you!"

"I don't know! I can only follow my heart, and right now, it's pulling me to Reagan. I can't just ignore it and wonder what could have been. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to all of you, I'm sorry to Darien. I'm selfish, I know. I'm not going to have any regrets." She said it with such determination, even though she was crying.

"But I thought this started just because you wanted to be normal."

"It did start that way, but now. I don't know, it feels like something more. Like something is pulling me to him and I can't go back. I wouldn't want to, feeling as torn as I am. I can't say this enough, Darien deserves all of me."

"What about Reagan? Is he getting all of you? Can you tell me that you don't think about Darien when you're with him?"

"Well, when I'm with Reagan it's hard to think about Darien. He always takes me places Darien never has. He tries his best to put him out of my mind, and for the most part it works. But I do think about him afterwards. I find myself wishing he's happy, and hoping that I'm not hurting him."

"Serena, no matter what you do at this point, if you're not with him, you're going to hurt him." Mina said, sensing she needn't say more. No one could believe the conversation that had just taken place. They didn't know what to believe. Could Serena really be falling for another man? No one wanted to believe it, but they heard it straight from her. They decided to let it go, it obviously was Serena that was keeping them apart, and they weren't going to get back together until she was ready. No one really wanted to see her cry anymore either. They decided not to bring it up unless she did.

Rei headed to Darien's apartment after training. She told him what happened, and how Lita knew everything. He just smiled. He was grateful that they could have an 'outsiders' view and advice for the plan, which relieved Rei. "Darien, are you sure you want to continue with the plan?"

"Yeah, if she thinks we're together, it will make her feel better and she'll feel less guilty." He wore a sad smile. She realized what was really going on in his head. This wasn't just about making her jealous, this was about making her feel better. Having her feel less guilty or guiltless. She couldn't believe how much he loved her. Had this been her situation, she'd have ripped the other girls heart out. She suddenly remembered Darien's comment when she quizzed him, and smiled. She finally understood where he had come from. "If she doesn't get jealous, I just want her to be happy. a frown should never be worn on an angel's face."

"Darien, I'm so sorry, about everything."

"Don't be, I'm not worried. I'm sure everything will work out for the best."

"Isn't that my line to you?"

"I guess you just finally convinced me."

"Yeah, good thing too, cause I think I'm starting to waiver!" They both laughed.

"Rei, do you want to go out? It will probably be good for both of us to go out and be seen too, you know." Rei agreed and they decided to make it a regular thing, and instead of seeing him every day, she'd give the other girls a chance to visit with him. They agreed to go out three times a week also, but made sure they were different days then Serena and Reagan. Though running into them may help their cause, they didn't want to risk falling apart and reveling the truth. It seemed to really help that he wasn't seeing Serena, and even though he missed her, it was easier to not see how happy she might be without him, and see the pity for him in her eyes.

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **Thank you to all reviewers! You guys are awesome! Also, I forgot to mention this earlier, xx Twilight Princess xx and I have a community called 'Eternal Love, Roses and Wings' with only Serena and Darien pairing stories and they must be first time writers! Show us/them some love by reading and reviewing stories on our community! Please no flames, we're all learning! ;)

h t t p : / / w w w . f a n f i c t i o n . n e t / c o m m u n i t y / E t e r n a l _ L o v e _ R o s e s _ a n d _ W i n g s / 9 8 3 2 6 /

**Special Thanks/Mention:** xx Twilight Princess xx, loveinthebattlefield, PrettyVchan, and Sailor Pluto

And thanks so much for commenting on my other story too Sailor Pluto! You're an awesome friend!


	15. Chapter 15 Unpleasent Surprises

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Unpleasant Surprises**

**Chapter 15**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"Rei, do you want to go out? It will probably be good for both of us to go out and be seen too, you know." Rei agreed and they decided to make it a regular thing, and instead of seeing him every day, she'd give the other girls a chance to visit with him. They agreed to go out three times a week also, but made sure they were different days then Serena and Reagan. Though running into them may help their cause, they didn't want to risk falling apart and reveling the truth. It seemed to really help that he wasn't seeing Serena, and even though he missed her, it was easier to not see how happy she might be without him, and see the pity for him in her eyes.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 15**

As the weeks past, Serena grew more fond of Reagan. She even contemplated telling him the truth about the sailor scouts but she resolved that it was too big of secret, and he could be very upset at the fact that she kept it from him, or worse, he wouldn't want anything to do with the scouts, or her. As the months went on, Rei and Darien discovered they didn't have the feelings that Rei believed she'd had for him before. Instead, it was more of a loving brother and sister relationship, but it worked all the same for the purposes they intended. It was no longer embarrassing when they hugged, or held hands. It was comfortable and seemed normal of the two. Darien no longer felt alone, and to Rei, that was the most important thing. The only thing no one seemed to notice, was the large force taking over the world. It had started in America, people were scattered in the streets, scouting, recruiting people, forming some kind of 'cult'. It was spreading slowly, so much so that no one really seemed to notice the change. The scouts never noticed because they never really focused on the 'world news' unless it was a 'major' change. The new enemy was also able to cover their tracks well. When someone resisted, they were killed, but they were clever enough to make it look like an accident, very few were able to resist. It slowly took over the world, and lastly, made its way to Japan...

-2 years later-

As soon as Reagan walked into the Arcade, Andrew felt uneasy. He knew what Darien and Rei were doing, but he also could see how happy Serena and Reagan were together. He found himself wishing Reagan would have just stayed in Ireland where he 'belonged', for both his friends sakes. Reagan just walked straight up to him, which caught the blonde man off guard. Especially since Serena was nowhere to be seen. "Hey Andrew, um, would you mind doing me a favor?" Reagan was keeping it short and to the point.

"Uh, hey, where's Serena?" Andrew asked, knowing exactly where she would be at this time.

"She's studying with the girls right now, I purposely came while she was busy."

"Oh, well, what's on your mind?" He said, distracting himself by wiping down tables.

"Well, Serena's 16 and a half, and I really want to throw her a huge birthday party for her 17th birthday! I thought you'd be able to tell the girls to call me? Would it be cool if I left my number with you so you could have them call me?"

"Um, sure."

"And just so you're not left wondering, you're invited. It wouldn't be a party without one of her closest guy friends now would it?" The red head smiled at him.

"Um, what about her other 'guy friends'? Especially a certain one her friend is dating?" Andrew asked boldly. Reagan's smile quickly faded, then returned, with force.

"Sure, he can come too, I'm sure Rei would be lonely without him." Reagan said, trying to play the 'good guy' in a lose-lose situation for himself. He didn't want anything to ruin the party, and so he wanted everyone Serena knew to be invited. The only invite-tee that would bother him would be Darien. Reagan reasoned with himself, 'a few hours of bearing him would mean the world to Serena, and would also show me as the better man'. "Well, I've got to go, I'll fill you in on the details later, I've got a lot of stuff to take care of!" The man called to Andrew as he left quickly. Andrew just waved, speechless, holding a card with Reagan's name and number on it for the girls.

After training, as predicted, the girls walked into the Arcade and sat themselves down in a booth, grabbing menus from the next-door, connected cafe. Andrew walked over to them and told them what had happened before they came in.

"Wow, really?" Rei asked, truly shocked by the fact that Andrew confirmed Darien would be invited. Serena wouldn't be joining them, it was one of her date nights.

"Yeah, I was just as surprised as you are. Here's his card, I guess he wanted you guys to be involved. Maybe with ideas? I don't know, but if it's Serena, you guys will have it under control." Andrew said smiling. The girls nodded in agreement as Andrew went back to work.

"So, do you think Darien will want to go?" Mina asked, unsure how Rei and Darien's relationship really worked, but she knew they did care for each other, however when she went to visit him, she could sense the love for Serena still there and burning brightly as ever.

"I don't know." Rei answered honestly. "It's not for another six months, he might just go back in forth from going to not going."

"Well, I hope he goes." Ami said, "It will give him a chance to see Serena, and they will both see where their feelings lie."

"That's true, but I hope this doesn't make him go backwards as far as progress." Lita said carelessly.

"What does that mean?" Mina asked, skeptically.

"Oh, nothing! I just meant it took him a while to get over her, and I don't know how he'd react to seeing them together, you know?" Lita said as she waved her hands frantically, trying to blow off her mistake.

"Over her? I don't know if that's possible, but it is great that she's not the only thing in his life anymore. Rei has given him the realization that Serena isn't the only one who can stop him from being lonely, and that alone is a feat within itself." Rei blushed and turned toward Mina.

"Well, I'm doing what I can. I guess I'll let Darien know the next time I see him." She said, trying not to bite her nails with anticipation. She was anxious to see what Darien's reaction would be to the news, but at the same time, she was hoping he wouldn't go at all. The last thing she wanted to see was him in pain for any reason. "Darien has to decide for himself, I just hope he doesn't do anything he might regret."

"What does that mean?" Ami asked, finally looking up from her notepad. She had been writing down ideas on what they could help Reagan with, and themes.

"Well, I don't think there will be a fight, but if he makes a move on Serena, I don't know what I'd do!" Rei answered honestly, unsure about how Reagan would react seeing that first-hand also.

"Do you really think he'd take it that far?" Mina asked, picturing it herself also.

"I wouldn't put it past him." She said sadly.

"If he goes, we're going to have to keep our eyes on him." Lita said, feeling in the mood to play bodyguard or referee, as the situation called for. "Where is Darien now?" Lita asked, feeling like Rei should tell him as soon as possible.

"At work, they called him in for an extra shift yesterday, so he went in today, and he has class after. He'll probably find time to train tonight."

"Does he ever sleep?" Mina asked, wondering how he had such energy.

"He doesn't have a sleep schedule, but he sleeps when he can. I'd better head home myself, I have chores to do for the temple. Maybe we should schedule a meeting with Reagan? During Serena's study time would probably be best."

"Yes, that's a good idea. I'll ask him about it when I call him, after I get home. I'll set it up, shall we meet at the arcade?" Ami said.

"I don't see why not. Later guys." And with that, Rei left.

Darien was finally getting off of work after a double shift, and was heading toward the exit to the hospital, when he heard his name called behind him.

"Darien? Darien Shields?" Darien turned around and noticed the person who called his name was actually an older gentlemen, not far from the grave from the looks of him.

"Can I help you?" Darien asked as he stayed where he was, making the old man come to him. Darien couldn't figure out why, but he knew the old man looked familiar for whatever reason. Yet he couldn't remember where he'd seen him before.

"I was hoping we could speak in private."

"Actually, I have quite a busy schedule..." 

"Please, I'm sure you'd be interested in what I have to say." Darien contemplated his options, then thought it best to at least humor the old man. One missed class, or training session wouldn't phase him.

"Okay, how about we meet at the park in about half an hour. The one with the small lake and large fountain?"

"Yes, I know the one. Thank you for meeting with me." He bowed to Darien and left. Darien was even more confused. Shouldn't he have been the one to bow to the old man? He brushed it off and got ready for the meeting, heading home to shower and change. Once Darien arrived at the park, he noticed the old man already seated on a bench. He went over and had a seat next to him.

"So what's this about?" He asked wearily as he looked the old man over. He wore a suit, as if he had come to a meeting, and was clean shaven. He obviously was not taking this meeting lightly.

"I know who you are."

"I'm sorry?"

"You don't have to pretend with me Tuxedo Mask, or would you prefer Prince Endymion?" Darien was on guard immediately.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean, you must have me confused with someone else." Darien was getting ready to get up, when the old man pulled him back down with incredible force.

"Don't play coy with me! Please your Majesty! I've been waiting for so long for you to reclaim your throne! And I've even made it so easy for you!" Darien could see the desperation in the old man's eyes. He just couldn't figure out why he looked so familiar.

"Who are you?" Darien asked, trying to solve the mystery.

"Don't you recognize your loyal subjects when you see them? Even the ones you were once so close to, you seem to have forgotten so easily?"

"What are you talking about?" The old man could see the genuine confusion in the young prince's face, and decided to start from the beginning.

"I take it you remember Beryl? She even went as far as calling herself Queen?" Darien stiffened at the memory. "So you do remember? I am her father, and a loyal follower of the Earth Kingdom, Alum. I was one of your most loyal followers, and my daughter was infatuated with you. So infatuated in fact, that she turned to dark powers to win over your heart. You turned her down, and she vowed to destroy what she believed stood in the way of your love for her. Queen Metalia granted her some wishes to prove to my daughter that she would have the power to win you over. One of which, was for our family to have a long life. I was able to escape the battle due to my age, which allowed the wish to fulfill itself, the rest of my family wasn't so lucky.

"So what do you want?" Darien didn't want to fight the old man, and thankfully he didn't seem like he was there to challenge him.

"I want you to regain your rightful place as Prince of the Earth. Ever since the Moon brat was brought into the picture of our planet, we have become a weak race, and many have come to claim our energy. We were once the protectors of others, and they would come to us when they needed a defensive measure. I am sorry to see how far we have fallen, now we must rely on the weakest to protect the strongest? We are much stronger than what we have become. As a race, if not as a species. Earthlings are now thought of as weak, and easily manipulated. As an elder follower of the old kingdom, I cannot allow this to continue. I have seen too much to stand idly by any longer, and have read many times how earthlings have been saved by the moon brat whom I know calls herself Sailor Moon." Darien couldn't believe what he was hearing, but once the old man finished telling his tale, he knew it was true. "Do you see what she's done to you? What she's done to us as a planet? She has done nothing but made us weak! I have gathered your forces once more. The planet is yours to reclaim, you need only give the word."

"What are you talking about?"

"I have taken over much of the world. The only place left to rule is Tokyo. Everyone is now a loyal follower to you and your kingdom. They are only awaiting the return of the Prince."

"Everyone? No one rebelled?"

"The ones who did, were killed. It's that simple. Weakness will no longer rule us."

"You're mad! You can't do that to people! To innocent lives!"

"Ah, there's the fire of our old Prince and rightful King! I am backing down to you, giving it to you, for you to rule as you please."

"I don't wish to rule at all! Not now, and certainly not like this!"

"How dare you! Do you have any idea how much work and effort it took for me to give you such a gift? I only want our kind to thrive and become what we once were! Before Queen Metalia and her evil energy tainted our planet! They weakened us, but we can take it back!"

"I want nothing to do with you!"

"You realize this means war? A war for the ruler ship of Earth, are you prepared for the doors you are about to open? Aware that they cannot be sealed again?"

"I will take on any challenge you bestow upon me, don't think I'll be destroyed so easily."

"Perhaps not, but I know the aliens you care for are still as weak as when they ruled the skies. Perhaps they would prefer to avoid destruction."

"This is between me and you."

"Ah, but you must look at the brighter picture. This is about Earth vs. Aliens. They have come to claim our land as their own! Just as the others before them stealing our energy!"

"You're wrong, I don't wish to kill you, as you have murdered others."

"You're calling me the murderer! What about the moon brat! Instead of cleansing my daughter of her hatred and evil energies, she destroyed her! Loyal followers that were once in your kingdom as well! They were tainted, not lost! Countless others as well! She's no saint! Not even close, she's killed more people that anyone in the solar system! Even if they don't have bodies, everything has a spirit! I know you can feel when they die! You can feel the spirit of any soul on this planet, and when it leaves this plane! You have your precious princess of the moon to thank for your pain!"

"No one is innocent, I've never been foolish enough to believe anyone is."

"And yet you protect her still. Even after I've told you all this. Love. Hmp. She's managed to brain wash you just as she's brain washed all of her followers. Just as the moon kingdom before her."

"Alum, no one has any claim to anything, people have a right to choose what they want or who to follow."

"If that is your decision, we shall meet again, and not on as good terms."

"I understand. I'll be waiting."

"Until next time 'my prince'." And with that, Alum, the old man left. He rushed over to the training grounds, to prepare for the battle ahead.

**To Be Continued...**

**Special Thanks/Mention:** BeautyoftheTerra, Starrlight1812, xx Twilight Princess xx, Jovian Sun, , inufan155687, Ami-chanMercury98


	16. Chapter 16 I Stand Alone

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**I Stand Alone**

**Chapter 16**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"If that is your decision, we shall meet again, and not on as good terms."

"I understand. I'll be waiting."

"Until next time 'my prince'." And with that, Alum, the old man left. He rushed over to the training grounds, to prepare for the battle ahead.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 16**

Darien had been training for hours when Rei showed up after realizing he wasn't anywhere else. She saw the concentration on his face and worry covered hers. It had been years since she had seen the look on his face that now consumed his features. As she watched him train, she debated with herself whether she should stop him and ask what was wrong, or not. She wondered if he had run into Serena, or had a dream about her. When it came to this total concentration, she was always the reason he tried to drown himself in his training. She finally decided to confront him, but not mention the birthday party until a 'safer' date. When he was at least more 'stable'. She watched, with a frightened look as he dodged, parried, and attacked the cyborg without restraint. This is why she preferred to not watch him train. This side of Darien, frightened her. She knew as soon as he realized she was there, he would ease up, but the way he had the killer intent, was something she couldn't get passed. After a few months of watching him train, she was not only letting him 'grieve' but also get stronger, by letting him train alone. She couldn't keep watching him, it caused her pain, the determination in his face. The look of, 'it's either going to be me or you, but one of us isn't going to make it' made her skin crawl. "Darien?" She called loudly, trying to be louder than the noise of the sword and metal clashing. He easily heard her, but didn't slow down. Instead her voice seemed to have the opposite effect and urged him on. "Darien?" She tried calling louder.

"Yeah?" He called back without stopping. This caught her off guard. Usually he stopped to talk to her, whatever was troubling him was serious, that much she could tell.

"I, I just...can we talk please?"

"Isn't that what we're doing right now?" He was hit with a lightning beam through his right shoulder, but recovered, she watched as the wound quickly healed, he had been struck right at the gap of his shoulder and arm armor. She couldn't turn away, but she didn't want to see anymore.

"Darien please stop!" That did it, she didn't realize she had tears in her eyes until she felt his hand wipe them from her face.

"I'm sorry, I just don't really have time to take a break right now." He said as he put his forehead to hers. Her powers over the years also increased, although she made Ami promise not to spread the news. She and Ami both thought it best if they had this 'edge' with Rei's powers. When she was in contact with another person, she was able to get a picture, glimpses really, of anything in the past week that person found 'eventful'. At first she only could 'sense' if the person was troubled, then Ami dove further into her abilities and she found she didn't need the flames to tell her things, she had the powers within herself. Her powers were far greater than she'd imagined, over two years of practice and she still had only been able to scratch the surface of her abilities. Still, a week of glimpses was far better than just a 'bad feeling'. Ami's theory was, once she controlled it completely, Rei would be able to focus on just one emotion the person was feeling, find out why they felt that way, and see any memories linked with the emotion, weather they were a week old, or a lifetime, possibly several. For now Rei would have to settle for the glimpses, it wasn't hard to convince Ami to keep it a secret, she liked having something just between them. They were the two closest to each other and un-boy crazy of the four.

Rei tried to find a way to bring up Alum without giving away that she had read his thoughts. "Darien, why are you training so hard? What's wrong? This isn't about Serena..." It was more a comment then a question.

"I, no. Rei, relax, I just feel tense lately, that's all."

"You're lying."

"Rei please, I just...I need to train. Alone."

"Why? I thought you knew you could trust me, why are you pushing me away?"

"It's not that I can't trust you, it's that...*sigh*...I'm trying to keep you safe."

"I can take care of myself. From what?"

"See? That's the kind of attitude I DON'T trust."

"Well how do you expect me to react when you're keeping me out of the loop!"

"Even if I tell you, you won't stay out of it! This is my battle." He glanced at the sword at his hand, and for the first time in a long time, felt like himself again. He couldn't hide the fact that he was actually looking forward to what was to come.

"Darien, you're scaring me! Why would you chose to face something alone when you don't have to! You sound like Serena when she'd rush off to save someone without telling us!" She quickly clasped her hands over her mouth.

"I know I do. I've never understood her more than I do now. I can't explain this Rei. It's just something that I have to do...alone. I'm going to be busy for a while so don't bother looking for me again."

"Darien, whatever you're about to face, you don't care what the outcome is going to be do you? You are either going to win or die trying!"

"I couldn't think of a better cause then saving the land I love, and the people."

"Do you realize what you're saying? You'd rather die than ask for help! You can't be serious! We can't let you do that!"

"That's why I'm not telling you what's to come!"

"And you don't think we'll figure it out!"

"You haven't noticed it yet have you? Besides, saving the Earth is probably the last thing on Serena's mind right now. She has other...distractions."

"You think she doesn't care about you anymore? Is that what this is about? She still cares about you! We ALL do! I know we don't matter compared to her-"

"You know that's not true! Look, this is something I have to do, I have to face, alone! There's no way I'll be able to explain it to you, not now. I don't have the time to worry about how you guys are doing, or if you'll be hurt. I'll need all my strength."

"You don't have to do this alone! We've all improved vastly! Even Serena! You can't just toss us aside like we don't matter!"

"This isn't your battle! What aren't you understanding! This isn't your typical 'battle for Earth' this is a battle of EARTH! Do you understand! This isn't about aliens protecting the planet for the weak humans, this is about humans protecting what's rightfully theirs!"

"A-aliens...?" The tears streaming down Rei's cheeks were hard to miss, but she didn't realize they were there. She stared at him, unable to believe what she'd just heard. Did he really call them that? "We were born here..."

"Reincarnated." He corrected. "You guys were 'reborn' here, but you're not from here. No matter how you look at it, you're all aliens. At least to 'real' humans.

"Darien, how could you- why would you-" She couldn't complete a sentence. Her anger was starting to rise, but her hurt won out. She just turned her back and ran back to the temple, crying the whole way. He couldn't hide the fact that he was happy she had run off. Finally he could go back to practicing in peace. This wasn't a game. This was going to be a kind of 'final battle'. His chance to really prove, not only to Alum, or to 'Earth', not even to Serena, but to himself. Prove that he wasn't just backup, or the 'boyfriend' although he no longer had the later as a label. He was a force to be reckoned with, he was Prince of the Earth, and future King, rightful King of Earth at that. He was determined to be King again, or die trying. This was the first day of his hard core training, that wouldn't stop until he was King of the Earth.

The next day Rei called Ami first thing in the morning. She asked Ami to come over so Rei could tell her what had occurred the day before. Ami agreed and shortly arrived to Rei's temple. Rei told her everything. Ami couldn't believe her ears. "But you're sure this old man you saw is a threat?"

"Ami, the only thing I'm certain I caught was that he was Beryl's father, and that he's over a thousand years old! We can't just overlook this!"

"But you said yourself he looked frail...still, the fact that he's related to Beryl is enough to give me chills. What do you think he's planning to do?"

"Who? Beryl's dad or Darien?"

"I don't know, either of them, both of them. We have to figure out what's going on. There hasn't been any signs of asteroids or anything, how did he get here?" Just then Ami's words made Rei realize what Darien was trying to tell her.

"...not a fight for aliens..." Rei quietly remembered.

"What?" Ami said, confused at Rei's comment.

"I don't know if there is anything we can do..."

"What are you talking about! You call me, frantic, and tell me we have to do something, but now you're having second thoughts! We can't avoid this, we're sailor scouts-"

"It's not our fight Ami! All we can do is back him up, it's best if we don't tell the other scouts about this." Rei said calmly.

"Are you insane! We can't let Darien go at this alone! You said you saw the whole world suffering in Darien's mind! If he has that much control of the world now, then Darien-"

"We can't take this from him Ami! Don't you see? Alum is Beryl's dad! What species was she?"

"What kind of question is- oh, I see." Ami quickly put the pieces together in her head and caught up with Rei. "So if we try to protect Earth, Beryl's dad will just use it to prove the 'aliens' are trying to take over and possibly get more followers." Rei nodded in agreement. "So that's it then? There's nothing we can do? Do you really think we'll be able to keep this from Serena?"

"Well, I know I can. Not like I see her that much anyway."

"Still, we have to tell the other scouts, if only to warn them to not get involved. I don't see Serena interfering if she's too busy trying to protect Reagan."

"You really think the person on her mind to protect will be Reagan over Darien?" Ami put her head down. She had kept it to herself, over the past two years she believed that Serena and Darien's relationship was more and more unlikely after the bond Reagan and Serena had formed. Everyone agreed, but they tried to keep it from Rei and Darien. "Ami, are they that serious!" Ami just nodded in conformation. She couldn't lie to one of her oldest friends. "Wow, I never thought- I never could force myself to believe- Serena and Reagan huh?" She finally forced herself to finish a thought.

"We should tell the others as soon as possible. Let's call them now."

"Okay."

Soon all the scouts except for Serena were gathered at the temple and had the situation explained to them by Rei, carefully excluding her mind reading abilities. They were in shock to say the least. They had long since believed they had gotten rid of Beryl and any evil that came with her.

"Oh wow! I just had a crazy thought!" Mina said, after a few moments of silence. "What if he thinks HE'S the good guy and WE are the bad guys!"

"Mina that's ridiculous-" Lita started to say, but then suddenly Ami cut her off.

"Now hold on, Mina may be on to something...go on Mina, what makes you think so?"

"Well, if Darien called us Aliens, I doubt he got that all by himself. I'm sure that's something Alum may have told him. And if he's as old as he claims, then it would make sense to see us as bad guys. After all, Darien never killed Beryl, Serena did, and we helped with what we could. With that in mind, it's also a known fact, Beryl was in love with Darien, but he turned her down."

"Okay, you're just saying stuff we all already know." Lita said impatiently.

"Just stay with me for a minute. In his mind, Serena possibly 'bewitched' Darien into loving her, and now that she's with Reagan, he thinks Darien will turn against her too. Maybe he already asked him, and he turned him down. If not, he's training for his reaction when he does turn him down. Either way, Alum thinks he's doing the right thing."

"You know what? You may have something there!" Ami beamed at Mina.

"Course I do! When it comes to emotions, you can count of me!" Mina said while pounding her fist to her chest with pride.

"So is the plan really to do nothing?" Lita asked, already hating the man for ruining their peace.

"Yes, we don't have much choice right now. We have too little information, and we can't be blind to the fact that we're not wanted. Rei, how is Darien's training? Do you think he'll do well in a battle?"

"That's an understatement. I've never seen him so determined. You should have seen him guys, he looks like he can take on the world!"

"He may have to." Ami said glumly. No one liked the idea of Darien going into battle alone, but they did trust the man.

Rei looked up at the others, with sad eyes. "Are we really 'aliens'?"

"No! This is our home too! We were born here!" Lita said, angry at Rei's doubts. "What's with you Rei? You used to be the one to have to snap someone out of a trance like the one you're in now!" Lita said, but this time her comment was laced with concern.

"I- I don't know Lita. I guess his words are just hitting home. All other humans' former lives were also on Earth. Only the people from the Moon and the scouts are the ones with memories of lives not from Earth. And even then, at least they don't remember them." She was once again trying not to tear up. "We really have no steak in this battle. Both sides will be people of Earth. There's nothing we can do. Even if we support Darien, we can't be sure that it won't backfire on him, having aliens on his side. I just, I feel so helpless!" She said, defeated. The girls all realized her hurt and pain, but they also realized what she said was true. Just then Mina's phone rang. With no one having anything else to say, she answered it.

"Hello?"

"_Hello, Mina? It's Reagan, I thought we were going to meet up today and talk about theme's for Serena's party with everyone?"_

"Oh crap! I'm sorry Reagan, I completely forgot!" Rei shot Mina a death stare when she heard the man's name. "Um, I'll meet you at the Arcade as soon as I can okay?"

_"Actually, can I meet you guys at Rei's temple? I don't want Serena to catch me here, it's the first place she'll go if she's bored."_

"Um, I'll call you back." Mina quickly said into the phone and hung up. "Um, Rei, can we talk about Serena's birthday plans here?" Mina said with a smile for the raven haired beauty.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

"C'mon! It's the only place we can think of that Serena won't just 'pop up' at! Please! We could use a break from all this serious talk anyway!"

"Fine." Rei said, realizing they could all use something to lighten the mood for at least a little while. Mina was back on the phone before Rei even finished the word.

"Hey Reagan, c'mon over, we're all already here, bring your best ideas!" She quickly said over the phone and hung up once again.

**A/N: **Reviews are like giving cookies to the author, and I could always use a snack! ;)

**Special Thanks/Mention:** xx Twilight Princess xx, Ami-chanMercury98, PrettyVchan, inufan155687


	17. Chapter 17

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Chapter 17**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"C'mon! It's the only place we can think of that Serena won't just 'pop up' at! Please! We could use a break from all this serious talk anyway!"

"Fine." Rei said, realizing they could all use something to lighten the mood for at least a little while. Mina was back on the phone before Rei even finished the word.

"Hey Reagan, c'mon over, we're all already here, bring your best ideas!" She quickly said over the phone and hung up once again.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 17**

Regan arrived shortly, anxious to get some plans started. "Hey guys! Thanks for helping me out, I really want this party to be memorable for her."

"No problem, what ideas did you have so far?" Mina asked, trying to keep Reagan's focus on herself, instead of the raven haired priestess fuming behind her. Rei thought of him as the source of all Darien's problems, and just the mention of his name now a days, caused her to be in a bad mood. Now having him at her temple, talking about a party for Serena irked her to the point of not wanting to be at her own temple for fear she would do something she'd regret.

"Well, I've already called a couple places and have them reserved until further notice, so we'll have a banquet hall." He pulled out several brochures that he had acquired from different halls.

"Reagan, these are usually wedding halls, and can get really pricey!" Mina said, shocked at the brochures he held. He had eight, so each girl took two. Each pair of brochures had a specific location area, the beach, wineries, hotels, and gardens.

"Eh, you only turn 17 once." Reagan tried to dismiss his extravagant choices. Mina noticed that she overlooked one of the hotels, as it wasn't really a hotel at all.

"Is, is this! Oh my gosh! No way Reagan! Himeji Castle! Can you really afford to have it there?" Mina's eyes bulged at the beautiful castle images, it was a popular tourist sight, but she never heard of anyone having a birthday party there. "How did you pull this off? You already have this place reserved?"

"Well, yeah. Do you think that's the one she'd want?" Reagan asked passively.

"Well duh! How on Earth did you manage this?" Mina demanded, even Rei was surprised and took the brochure from Mina, as if she had to see it for herself.

"Actually, I'm not quite sure myself. All I know is my dad said I could have it there. I don't know what kind of pull he has, or how he managed it myself." Reagan said smiling.

"Uh-huh." Mina said skeptically.

"No, it's true." a giant sweat drop began to form on Reagan's head.

"Well whatever, can you take us to see it? We have a lot of planning to do if this is the place we're going to use, it's huge!" the other girls nodded in agreement with Mina.

"Well, we should all fit in my car, you're coming too, right Rei?" Regan noticed Rei acting distant toward him.

"Yeah, sure." She had nowhere else to be since she had no idea where Darien would be training anyway, and she couldn't pass up the opportunity to view the castle.

"We should make it a masquerade ball!" Lita said happily. Rei immediately saw Lita's plan, if Darien went, it would cause Serena to focus on the love and memories she had with him. If not, she still would be forced to think of Darien at the ball, and Reagan didn't have a clue!

"That's a great idea Lita!" Rei finally smiled.

"Serena always wanted to feel like a princess, it'd be perfect!" Ami chimed in.

"If you guys say so. Well, let's head over, with the space we have we may barely have enough room for all of Serena's friends." Reagan joked. The girls quickly headed to Reagan's car and piled in, anxious to see the castle.

Meanwhile, Darien focused on his training. After Rei left the night before, he trained for hours yet, finally going home just before dawn, but only to get his work and school numbers to call them when they opened, to tell them he would be 'unavailable' for a few months. After which, he got the cyborg and headed to a new, more secluded spot to train, one that was out of the way. Only he knew about these grounds from his early training days when he trained alone, when the Moon Kingdom still existed. He forced himself to take a break after training for 18 hours straight. He didn't want to be too exhausted to fight if the time came, and wanted his body to recover.

"Alright, it's settled! We're having her party here, and it's going to be a masquerade ball. With that stuff out of the way, we can now focus on the guest list and decorations!" Ami said, typing in the specifics on a hand held computer.

"Let's try to keep it under 200." Mina said casually.

"200! Serena knows that many people?" Reagan said in shock.

"Well, it's not so much she KNOWS them, it's more like acquaintances and plus I'm sure you know your fair share of people whom you'd like to invite." Ami clarified.

"Well I guess that's true, it does make sense." Reagan began to ponder who he would invite, not many people beside his family, which were only 5 people as it was. He'd have to consider business partners. At least his father would be happy about that. "Ami, I'll give you a list of people for my end so you can figure out what we're dealing with. I'm counting on you to come up with Serena's of course. My invites will be flexible, as long as whoever you'd think she'd want to be there can make it. Okay?"

"That sounds like a plan, I'll get right on it." She nodded, and with that, she was completely in her own little world while pressing keys on her hand held computer.

Reagan was dropping the girls off back at the temple, and afterwards paid the first of many payments to lock the castle in for sure. Since the money was in an envelope marked ' Himeji Castle' none of the girls knew how much he paid, or if he had paid at all. It may have been just a note for all they knew. Regan was obviously keeping a lot of his information 'hush, hush'. The girls began to wonder about his intentions, but were also very excited about the upcoming party. The girls broke the load into sections, each with their own flair for the party. Lita was in charge of the catering, Mina was in charge of decorations, Rei was in charge of entertainment, and Ami was in charge of seating and invitations. With all the would-be chores assigned among themselves, that left Regan to keep her just distracted enough where she wouldn't catch on to what the girls were doing.

As the weeks flew by, Rei couldn't help but wonder what Darien was up to. She had spoken to Andrew several times, and he always had the same reply. He hadn't had any contact with Darien, the last one to really see him was herself. After finishing her plans for entertainment, and feeling secure that nothing was going to 'fall through', she set out to find Darien. She started by using her senses and powers. She had spent so much time with him, she was able to hone in on his aura after weeks of meditation, concentration, and focus. Many times she got distracted and ended up going to places he had simply already been, like the arcade, or his apartment. She had gotten flustered, but not given up. Finally, she was on a trail that was taking her somewhere beyond where she ever had seen him, and knew she was on the right path. By the looks of it, he really didn't seem like he wanted to be found. She began to doubt if she should continue to look for him at all.

Only Lita was told where Rei planned to go. The others were left in the dark, she didn't want anyone else distracted or worried. She told Lita, in case an emergency came up. Even then, Lita didn't know her exact location, only that she planned to find Darien. Lita was happy that someone would know where he was and if he was okay, and hoped for her success.

The outskirts of the area were dark and creepy. The large bare trees seemed to reach out to her and attempt to mutilate her flesh. The deeper in she got, the more inviting the area seemed. It was greener, and had softer colors throughout. Once she got to a clearing, she could see Darien in the center, with the cyborg. He was still hard at work, breathing heavily. He looked like he hadn't been eating well. She guessed, without his healing powers, he would have looked a lot worse. She thought about calling to him, but then thought better of it. She suddenly forgot why she had tracked him down. Was it to tell him about Serena's party? Just see how he was doing? Or was it to ask him if she was really an alien in his eyes? She knew all were questions that plagued her mind in her loneliest moments. However, once she saw his face, the determination and wear in his eyes, she knew all she wanted to do was hold him close and take care of him.

She suddenly felt very foolish. Why had she come and chased a man whom had told her to stay out of his affairs? The answer was simple. She cared about him. Suddenly nothing else mattered to her, only his well being. She decided to use her communicator to inform Lita where all of her party plans were, they were complete with back-up plans in case something went wrong with her current schedule. Rei didn't need to explain, Rei's face on the communicator told Lita all she needed to know. Lita knew Rei wouldn't abandon Darien, even if he tried pushing her away. Darien needed help, even if he was being too stubborn to admit it. No one was more capable of dealing with him in that kind of mood, more than she was.

After talking to Lita, Rei braced herself for the worst, and set off toward Darien. He had a small encampment a few yards away from where he was sparring. He was engulfed in his training and didn't even hear her come close until she was right next to him. He quickly turned his sword on her and froze solid when he realized his error. "Rei? What are you doing here?" He sheathed his sword and the cyborg shut down automatically.

"I was worried about you. Darien, you're running yourself ragged! You need to take a break!"

"Do you think the enemy will go easy on me just because I'm having a bad day?"

"Every day is going to be a bad day if you keep this up! Your body is in no condition to fight!"

"I'm not going home Rei."

"I'm not asking you to!"

"Then what did you come for?"

"I, I'm not entirely sure..." he turned his back and headed for his encampment.

"Go home Rei."

"No!" He turned back toward her and unsheathed his sword with the blade to her neck.

"Go home, before I make you go home." She didn't even flinch. She was beyond angry at this point, and her anger worked to her advantage, giving her strength, where fear would have rendered her paralyzed.

"So, what? Now you see me as nothing more than an 'alien'?" Hurt was evident on her features, but she kept her eyes firm. Never leaving his gaze.

"This has nothing to do with how I see you, I told you not to look for me, and I told you I didn't want to be bothered." He slightly lowered his blade, suddenly realizing how close he was to actually slitting her throat.

"So now you're ready to kill those who defy orders 'my prince'?" She noticed his eyes softening, and saw her chance. She hoped he wasn't so weak that he would be blind to the animal he was becoming. "Darien, you can't do this on your own, no matter how much you want to. Whatever you're training for is tearing you apart! Can't you see that! In a few more days, you won't be anything but a shell of a man, waiting for your enemy to destroy you." Now she was beginning to soften, but her words already reached their goal. Darien wasn't so blind as to not see what was happening to him. He realized he was acting like a savage animal, attacking anything that entered his 'territory'.

"You're right. But I can't have you involved. I don't want anyone involved. I'll take better care of myself." He re-sheathed his sword once more, and walked back to his camp, in an effort to show her he wasn't training every second.

"After what I've seen? Darien, you need help. Someone who cares about you. Someone who can help you."

"If you 'help' me, you're just going to want to join my fight, and I'm not allowing that."

"I understand you have a 'battle' going on that you don't want anyone to interfere with. At this point Darien, all I care about is your health. Please, let me help you. If you insist on this crazy fight, and doing it alone, the least I can do is make sure you'll be at 100%. I promise if you want me to stay out of it, I will." Rei didn't want to make the promise, but she knew Darien wouldn't accept her help any other way, just as he knew she'd never go back on her word.

"Alright Rei. I can see I can be just as stubborn as you when I want to get something done. I know I'm not exactly doing a good job watching over myself. I think I'm getting my priorities a little mixed up lately. I have learned a few things, but taking care of myself has gotten pushed to the back burner."

"I noticed." He turned his head to face her, gave her a weak smile, then collapsed from exhaustion in front of her.

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **Thank you to all reviewers! You guys are awesome! Sorry for the LOOOOONG delay! I've been very busy, and the lack of reviews has kind of made me distracted from this story since the alerts of a new review go straight to my phone. NO I HAVE NOT LEFT IT UNFINISHED FOREVER! Please be patient with me. I have limited internet at the moment and it's been very difficult to find time to finish typing on the computer.

**Special Thanks/Mention:** xx Twilight Princess xx, inufan155687, Ami-chanMercury98, and Elle Mariie


	18. Chapter 18

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Chapter 18**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"Alright Rei. I can see I can be just as stubborn as you when I want to get something done. I know I'm not exactly doing a good job watching over myself. I think I'm getting my priorities a little mixed up lately. I have learned a few things, but taking care of myself has gotten pushed to the back burner."

"I noticed." He turned his head to face her, gave her a weak smile, then collapsed from exhaustion in front of her.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 18**

"Darien!" Rei ran to the fallen man's side. She began to shake him, and yell at him to awaken, but to no avail. She was unsure how to proceed, and decided to lay him down in what looked like his bed in the camp, since he looked more drained than anything. Keeping a close watch on him, she decided to gather supplies, berries and the like, to have as a small meal when he awoke. She began to meditate to find a reason why he would have collapsed. She remembered how his emotions controlled his powers, and if she had distracted him from his goal, he was finally able to rest, and not be absorbed by the battle he was training to face.

Darien awoke to Rei heating up a rabbit on a small fire. It was dark and he was trying to remember the last thing he saw, and why Rei was there. "What happened?" He asked as he sat up holding his head with one hand.

"Darien! You're up!" Rei quickly took the rabbit off the fire and used one of the plates Darien had, but apparently didn't use, as supplies for his training expedition. She added some berries and a cup of water from a nearby stream. "Here, please eat, you need the energy." He didn't argue and took a sip of water before speaking again.

"How long was I out?" He asked, as his last memories slowly came back to him.

"a few days. At first I was really worried something was seriously wrong with you, but the longer you were out, the better you looked. Your body began to look healthier and you had less 'wear' on your face. I think that 'nap' was long awaited." She gave him a smile as she took his now empty cup to refill it.

"Yeah, I can't remember the last time I slept. I feel so rejuvenated. The only real problem is..." He paused from eating to look at her. He began to ponder the possibilities of what could have happened while he was 'out'. "What if they would have attacked Rei? What would they have done to you? I don't like that you're here-"

"Well that's just tuff luck then isn't it? You know I'm not going anywhere. If you're so worried about something happening the next time you're having an extended nap, maybe you should just rest more and take care of yourself! Since I know I can't trust you to do it on your own, a little more forceful motivation should be able to do the trick." She smiled as she gave him a gentle shove, pushing him back down into his bed. The serious look on his face, giving way as he felt better than he had in weeks. Obviously the rest was more than doing its job.

"Okay Rei, I get it. It probably won't be so bad having someone here for me. No, not someone, you. Thanks Rei." She began to blush slightly.

"Don't thank me! I haven't done anything!" She stated as she distracted herself by putting another rabbit over the fire.

"You probably saved my life. I'm a better fighter with my training, sure, but what good is it if I can't even stand up?"

"Oh please, your emotions would have taken over and you would have been fine...of course after the fight you may have-" She refused to finish her sentence, she just looked down and tried to hold back her emotions. 'Get a grip Rei! He's right here next to you, he's fine! You won't let him beat himself up anymore, you'll protect him from Alum, Serena, and himself.' Rei's pep talk to herself made her feel better immediately and she smiled at him. "Just remember to take it easy okay?"

"You won't let me do otherwise, remember?" He smiled, and she nodded in agreement. "So, what's been going on back home?" Rei tensed. Now was the time to tell him about the party, and find out how he felt about it.

"Well, everything is basically the same. The only real major thing going on right now is...well, Reagan has decided to throw a party for Serena's seventeenth birthday." She studied his face carefully, trying to read his thoughts. Darien pondered her words carefully, and asked her about the details. "It's going to be held at Himeji Castle. The theme is 'Masquerade Ball', and you're invited." This was the only time his face showed a noticeable change.

"Really? So I'm invited huh? By whom?" He asked with one raised eyebrow.

"Reagan." Rei continued to speak so that Darien had a better idea of why he was invited. "Well, he invited Andrew and told him that since it's Serena's party, ALL her friends should be there. Andrew then asked about you, and he told him you were invited too."

"Well maybe I should head home and check my mailbox. Maybe my invite was conveniently 'lost in the mail'."

"No, Reagan personally asked me to invite you, so that's another reason why I had to find you."

"I see. What time is the party? It sounds like fun."

"It's going to be the Saturday of Serena's birthday. It starts at 1. Should I tell Ami to save a place for you? She's doing the seating chart."

"You know what? Sure, I'll be there. I can't miss the party of one of my closest friends could I? Even if they are an 'ex'." Rei didn't like how he worded it, but while Darien was training, she went to find some more food, and used the communicator to get in touch with Lita, and informed her to tell Ami, Darien would be attending.

After Rei's arrival, Darien fell into a much 'healthier' regimen. Without needing time to hunt, cook, or clean (since Rei volunteered in order to not be a burden and keep herself busy while he trained) he was able to focus on training, while eating healthy and (forcefully) resting regularly. Soon, the party date arrived, which surprised Darien, he believed Alum would attack before the party. He decided Alum was going to try something soon, but waiting to just be attacked seemed foolish.

On the day of the party, Darien drove Rei to her temple to get ready, then he drove home. He picked her up a few hours later, so they could attend hand in hand. He played the part of 'boyfriend' flawlessly. By the time the 'couple' arrived, the party was in full swing. They spotted the girls standing near the buffet, talking among themselves and looking at the full fruit of their efforts. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and they were pleased to find Darien in good spirits.

"You ladies did a fine job. This place is incredible." Darien said as he took another look around main hall.

"Thanks!" They said in unison.

"Darien, I'm really glad you came, you look great!" Mina said, noticing the Tuxedo he was wearing, without the top hat and mask. Mina wore an orange dress that went down to her knees, and puffed out to her calves with a matching mask. They all had similar designs, with their trademark colors.

"Thanks Mina, it's good to see you all again." Darien said, as he gave them all an approving nod. They all began to blush once more.

"Rei, care to dance?" He asked, as he outstretched his hand to his date.

"Um, sure." Rei said as she accepted. The whole experience felt so surreal, she felt like this is how it would be if things were...different. As they danced Darien admired the castle and the design of the structure itself, while Rei pondered what her elated feelings might mean. She thought about how she just wanted Darien to be happy, and she wondered if that was how Serena felt as well. She began to understand how Serena could be 'okay' with them dating. She suddenly realized they were no longer dancing, she looked around, and realized everyone was standing around looking at the main stage. "What's going on?" She whispered to Darien.

"They just announced that Serena was about to enter the main hall." He whispered back. Rei looked up to the stage and saw Reagan holding a microphone, which made her realize he made the announcement.

"Oh." She replied. She had no idea what to expect. She was hoping Reagan wasn't planning on displaying any type of public display of affection (pda). Serena soon emerged and had on a beautiful ball gown that resembled her princess gown, only with a puffy ball poof from her waist down. Reagan was wearing a suit that resembled a dress suit from the 1700s. She had to admit it suited him, he even had one hand behind his back, like a gentlemen from that era.

Serena slowly approached the stage as her cheeks began to flush and she bowed before her 'court'.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the lady of the evening, I give you Miss Serena Tsukino!" Regan announced as he bowed to her. "I have a special surprise announcement to make for our lovely lady of the hour. Serena looked at him quizzically and said something inaudible to the audience. Rei noticed Darien tense beside her, and saw him turn his back and quickly move to the back of the room. Everyone in the crowd gasped at her beauty and clapped uniformly. Rei followed him and asked him what was wrong.

"I don't know, I just don't feel right." He said as he admired Serena from where he stood in the back. Rei followed his gaze and knew he was trying to figure out what was going on. He was able to see Reagan get down on one knee.

"Serena my dear, will you marry me?" a gasp was heard throughout and Darien and Rei could see that Serena had replied, but whatever she said wasn't audible for anyone but Reagan. Rei could see Darien's eyes gleam with furry and knew that if he let himself believe it was what she really wanted, he would have collapsed then and there. Before she even realized what he was doing, Darien made his way through the crowd and up the stage. He took Serena's hand and spoke to both of them before leading her behind the stage and into an unknown hall. Rei had no idea how to react, she wanted to find Darien and Serena, and make sure everything was okay. At the same time, she wanted them to talk and resolve the issues that she knew plagued Darien's mind.

"Serena, how could you put yourself in that position? He practically forced you to say yes to him!" Darien wasn't shouting, but with the stern tone in his voice, he didn't need to. The hurt was evident in his voice. "Is this really what you want for yourself? Is he who you want to be with now? Am I really only a friend to you now?" He held her arms and looked into her eyes, trying to only see the truth of her emotions. When he grabbed her she was able to feel the pain in his heart. She could also feel that he just wanted her to be happy. Her eyes welled up and feeling the love he had for her in his touch.

"Darien, I...I...I'm sorry." she didn't look away from him.

"I just want you to be happy Serena. Just tell me he makes you more happy than I ever could and I'll let you go." He said, partly already giving up his 'claim' on her.

"No Darien, I don't think he could make me as happy as you do. I don't think anyone ever could. There's only one you Darien, and you are the one my heart belongs to." She said honestly, baring her heart and soul to the man whom she devoted her life to for the millionth time. Darien was in shock, he didn't expect her to comply so quickly and willingly. He was in shock for a moment, and while he gathered his bearing, she continued to speak. "But that's not going to stop me from marrying him." She saw Darien's confusion and blurted out the truth. "He's dying Darien. I can't say I don't love him, and I don't to break his heart. I refuse to let that be the last thing he remembers about me."

"Serena..."

"I know this leaves you in a horrible position Darien, and I'm sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me for marrying another man, but you cannot deny me this request. If you won't wait for me, I'll understand."

"Serena...you want me to stand idly by as you marry another man! How can you possibly be okay with this? How can you not want to be with me? Here and now." He gazed into her eyes again, searching for an answer she couldn't give. She just had tears slowly going down her cheeks at the pain she felt she was inflicting on the man who owned her soul. He couldn't stand it any longer. He leaned in, tilted her head once more. "Forgive me Serena, for stealing a kiss from you once more." He said just before he closed the gap between their lips. This time she responded quickly, kissing back as if her life depended on it. They held each other tightly as they had their feelings were expressed in one passionate kiss. When they finally separated, and realized they were not alone, they didn't know how to react. Especially since all Reagan did was stand there for a few seconds after they realized he was there.

"I...I'm sorry for the intrusion." he said as he quickly excused himself from the room. Darien believed he had gotten what he wanted, but then he realized how horrible he felt, he realized just how mean his actions really were.

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **Thank you to all reviewers! You guys are awesome!

F.Y.I. Darien trains longer than Rei, therefore, she's not missing out on her training doing chores, she's just trying to keep busy. As well as training in meditation, increasing her powers, and 'shadow' training herself, she still doesn't have Darien's stamina or willpower to train as hard as he does.

**Special Thanks/Mention: **AimlesslyGera, James Birdsong, xx Twilight Princess xx, Starrlight1812, and LoveInTheBattleField


	19. Chapter 19 Serena's Side

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Chapter 19**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

A/N: First of all, I'd like to thank princess moonie of the moon for the review. I assure you I will fix the error of how far the castle is when I update the story (as in make corrections again). As for what the castle looks like, they have unrestricted access, so it's more than the tourists get to see. I like to think that it could be a lot better than what is lead to be believed in tours. Course there's no way to know unless you're on the inside (as in have secret access) ;) Anyway, enough of this, on with the story! Enjoy ;)

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"Forgive me Serena, for stealing a kiss from you once more." He said just before he closed the gap between their lips. This time she responded quickly, kissing back as if her life depended on it. They held each other tightly as they had their feelings expressed in one passionate kiss. When they finally separated, and realized they were not alone, they didn't know how to react. Especially since all Reagan did was stand there for a few seconds after they realized he was there.

"I...I'm sorry for the intrusion." he said as he quickly excused himself from the room. Darien believed he had gotten what he wanted, but then he realized how horrible he felt, he realized just how mean his actions really were.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 19**

_**Serena's Side:**_

Serena had been dating Regan for one full year. She felt she gave Reagan and herself more than just a real chance to be 'in love'. She couldn't help but notice her feelings for Reagan were nowhere near the way she felt for Darien. She thought about how she treated Darien, and how no matter horribly she treated him, he would always be there. It wasn't that Reagan wouldn't be the same way, it was that Darien's feelings for her were not one sided. She loved him just as much, and she could no longer deny it. A week before Reagan and Serena's one year anniversary, Reagan's father contacted Serena and asked her if she could find some time to speak with him privately. He made it clear Reagan didn't know, and he didn't want that to change.

Brian looked at the girl his son had claimed many times was 'the love of his life' with a concerned look. Whatever he wanted to discuss, Serena got the feeling this was a very important conversation. "Hello Ms. Tsukino, please, have a seat." Serena did as she was told, and was very weary of the formalities.

"Hello Mr. O'Brien, how can I help you today?"

"I'll be frank with you. You've been dating my son for quite a while now."

"Yes, almost a year sir."

"Yes, well, my point being, you have been together for a while." The man put his head in his hands, and sadly pondered his next move.

"Look Serena, I don't know how much Reagan has told you about his past, but it's much more complicated than I'm sure he's lead you to believe."

"What do you mean?" Serena's concern with the conversation increased, as the man looked more and more worn.

"Has he told you about his medical condition?"

"Um, kind of. He told me he was in and out of hospitals when he grew up, and throughout his childhood..."

"Yes well he no longer goes to hospitals anymore. Two years ago, the doctors told me there was nothing left they could do...they told me to let him live out his life as he pleases, so that he may live the rest of his life in joy. He's already surpassed the deadline of his life, and my dear I think it's thanks to you he's made it this far." The man was in tears, trying to explain his son's trying life. "You see, he used to have a friend in the hospital when he would 'visit'. He was very much enamored with her, then she sadly passed away. He did not take it well, and I tried to distract him with many different methods, but he had given up on life. His health was quickly deteriorating, then he met you. He told me about this beautiful woman he had seen in the arcade. It was the first time he showed any interest in anything for a long time. I made it my mission to get you to meet him somehow. He said that you had a boyfriend and that you only had eyes for him. I like to think I know women to a certain extent, and I know they can be tempted, as anyone can...given the right circumstances. That was when I decided to open the game store. Apparently my timing couldn't be better, because you broke up with your boyfriend shortly after I finally got the game store open. I felt that fate was on my side, however, I am constantly aware of one's ability to digress. I, I don't know how seriously you feel about my son, but you've been with him this long, you must know how he feels for you. Please, you won't leave my son will you?"

"I...I'm sorry sir. My heart belongs to another, my first love. I don't think we'll last much longer." She turned her head in shame and pity, not wanting to look him in the eye. She became startled when he began shouting.

"How can you say that! How could you be with my son this long, and not have feeling for him! Why would you torture him like this!"

"Sir, it's not my intention to hurt anyone!"

"You expect me to believe that when you've captured the heart of my son? You have no feelings for him at all?"

"I do have feelings for him! I love him, sadly, not in the way he wants, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. Your apology will not replace my son!"

"But your son is still here! Don't you think you should spend time with him while you can?"

"You don't think I've tried? All he wants to do is spend time with you! You've become his whole world, do you not see that? I've tried to warn him about you, about how you may not feel the same way, but he won't hear of it! I'm telling you now girl, if anything happens to him, I'll blame you."

"I can't control what my heart decides! I've tried to betray my feelings, and change for Reagan! It's just not working out!"

"Can't you see he's in love with you! Do you know what it will do to him if you tell him you don't love him?"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! But I can't-"

"Get out."

"Please, try to understand-"

"I said get out! I will go on as if this conversation never happened. I suggest you do the same. No reason for him to suffer any more than he already will." She silently left, tears quickly fell from her face as soon as she reached the sidewalk. As Serena thought about what Brian told her, she couldn't help but wonder how much stronger his feelings were for her. The thought of Reagan living on 'borrowed time' caused her heart to ache. She didn't want to cause pain, let alone his health to deteriorate. The more she thought about Brian's words, the more she believed him. She thought that if she ever left him, he wouldn't last longer after. On their one year anniversary, he professed his love for her, she felt she had no choice but to retaliate.

"Why are you crying?" Reagan asked.

"I'm just so happy." She lied. Reagan knew her better than that. He knew something else was wrong. Though it wouldn't be odd for her to be crying because she was in love, her feelings were easy to read. She wasn't her usual cheery self after that day. "Oh Reagan, I love you too."

The more time she spent with Reagan, the more she wanted to tell him the truth. However, her guilt of having someone's life in her hands, and crushing it, was more than she could bare. Reagan was not blind, and so he would constantly question her on her feelings. She always would brush it off by saying, "I just miss my friends." or "I'm just tired from studying." He knew the only friend she didn't see that she would 'miss' was Darien, and it tore him apart. Serena had told Reagan that Darien had moved on without her and had started to see Rei. The more time he spent with her, the more he knew what he had to do. He decided to plan the party and propose to Serena, so that he would react in some kind of emotional outburst, if things went well. If he truly loved Serena, which he believed Darien did, Reagan knew Darien wouldn't let her go through with it. Finally they would be back together and be happy. It wasn't that he didn't love her, it was that her happiness was his priority. He began to think that was his purpose for not dying when he 'should have'. He believed there was a reason for his survival, and he wanted it to be a positive one. Taking the love of Serena's life away from her, was not going to help him.

Reagan was very fond of his idea, and while he disliked Darien, Serena's happiness meant more to him than anything. He came up with Serena's birthday party quite quickly, however he also wasn't sure how he would feel having the man he hated, his love's ex, in the same room with them, but he wasn't sure it would have to work out that way. After he went through with his plan, he would find out the news sooner or later. He didn't think of anyone suggesting that he should go, since the man had made himself so scarce. When Andrew brought it up to him, he begrudgingly obliged.

As her 17th birthday neared, she grew more and more tense. She was worried about the 'big surprise' Reagan had said he planned for her. She was so confused about what to do, and she missed Darien so much. Serena was constantly kept busy between training, Reagan, and studying, her mind was terribly stressed, and she couldn't stop thinking about Darien and Rei. Constantly torn between happy and sad, she tried not to think about their dating situation, especially when they were training. Rei was relieved when the questions stopped, but also worried that Serena's interest in Darien was slowly dwindling down. Rei and Lita even tried to plan some 'interesting' moments where Serena would most likely ask for more information, but they fell through. In reality, she just wanted Darien to be happy, but with herself, and not Rei. Not leaving Reagan was a choice made on her behalf to keep someone alive, and not intended to hurt the man she loved.

As the day of her birthday arrived, she was blindfolded and taken to a hotel the day before, It was a far drive, where she stayed with her parents, complements of the O'Brien's. A beautiful gown was prepared for her, as well as a stylist prepared to arrive the next morning. She couldn't believe the extremities that everyone was going through for her. For the first time in a while she felt like the princess she was, doing something for the good of her people, and making the selfless decision of being with Reagan. The day of her birthday she was blindfolded once more, and taken to the castle where she was finally allowed to open her eyes. "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"I was hoping you'd like it. Even though it's a masquerade ball, your beauty shall not be hidden from the world." She blushed at his kind words, and let him lead her into the castle. There were many twists and turns, and she was guided through several hallways. Finally they reached their destination were she found a stage was set up. "Don't come out until I call for you okay?" She nodded in agreement. He spoke to the crowd, as she peered out at them from the corner of her curtain shield. She spotted her parents, Andrew, Molly, and many others she'd met over the years. She also noticed business type men whom she could only assume knew Reagan or his father. She caught sight of Darien and her heart sank. She saw no one but him, and wished to be the one he was dancing with. She saw everyone stop dancing and look up toward the stage, and notice Darien look at Reagan with contempt. She wished to speak with him, to tell him his feelings were misplaced. It was just a bad situation, and it was her fault he was a victim, but she was caught off guard when she heard Reagan introduce her. She walked to the center where the curtains met and walked out gracefully. "I have a special surprise announcement to make for our lovely lady of the hour!"

Serena looked at him quizzically and said, "Another one!? I don't know how much more my heart can take!" As she blushed and turned shyly to the crowd.

"Serena my dear, will you marry me?" a gasp was heard throughout.

Serena looked at him with sad eyes, not being able to hide her sadness any longer. Her hurt and pity evident she simply replied, "I think you know the answer." Reagan nodded in agreement and before either of them realized, Darien was on stage with them.

He took Serena's hand and said, "What the hell are you guys doing? I have some business to take care of with my 'friend'!" As he lead her behind the stage and into an unknown hall. Reagan felt at peace, but he knew the crowd would be outraged by Darien's actions. He quickly covered for them.

"It seems her closest friend wanted to be the first to congratulate her! I hope you enjoy the party, I'm sure Miss Tsukino will return shortly! Please help yourselves to any and all food and refreshments!" The shine in Reagan's eyes was gone. His heart was broken for the second time in his life, he just tried to hold it together for the sake of the party, and his family. He knew how much his family had gone through caring for him in his youth, and he didn't want to burden them now, after it had been so long. He excused himself after a few minutes and decided to look for the pair and tell them the truth of the events that had unfolded.

He slowly walked past a few doors, taking his time to find them, when he heard Darien speaking loudly through one of the doors. He opened it without thinking about what was being said."Serena...you want me to stand idly by as you marry another man! How can you possibly be okay with this? How can you not want to be with me? Here and now. Forgive me Serena, for stealing a kiss from you once more." Darien said just before he closed the gap between their lips. This time she responded quickly, kissing back as if her life depended on it. They held each other tightly as they had their feelings were expressed in one passionate kiss. When they finally separated, and realized they were not alone, they didn't know how to react. Especially since all Reagan did was stand there for a few seconds after they realized he was there.

"I...I'm sorry for the intrusion." he said as he quickly excused himself from the room. Serena ran after him, shocked that Reagan had seen such a moment between them. She didn't have to go far, as she found him clutching his chest and leaning on the wall as support.

"Reagan! What's wrong?! Do you need me to get your father!?" Serena shouted between sobs.

"No! Ahhhhh..." He winced from the pain going through his body. "No. Please." He forced a smile and used all his strength to stand up straight. "Please, just take me somewhere safe, somewhere you don't think anyone would look for me. I need you to do something for me sweetheart. I need you to cover for me and get me out of here without anyone knowing. He forced a smile that was obviously laced with pain.

Darien quickly found him and saw the situation at hand. He quickly tired to heal the man, but his powers wouldn't work.

"Darien, isn't there anything you can do!? Please, help him!" Serena was shouting at him.

"I can't! Whatever is hurting him isn't physical Serena! There's nothing I can do!" Darien said, upset that there was nothing he could do for the obviously suffering man in front of him.

"There's only one place I know that we can take him to that he described! Take him to your place Darien!" She quickly managed to say to him before running back toward where she came from.

"What are you going to do?" Darien asked as he was holding up the now passed out man.

"Cover for us, I'll meet you at your apartment as soon as I can!" It was the last thing she managed to say before she turned a corner and was out of earshot.

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **Thank you to all reviewers! You guys are awesome! Never forget, these stories are for you, the readers!

**Special Thanks/Mention:** xx Twilight Princess xx, AimlesslyGera, LoveInThe BattleField,princess moonie of the moon, Ami-chanMercury98, Isis2010, GinnyPotter0183, Guest (chapter 1), Guest (chapter 15), and hopelessromantic2314


	20. Chapter 20 What Now?

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Chapter 20**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

Darien quickly found him and saw the situation at hand. He quickly tired to heal the man, but his powers wouldn't work.

"Darien, isn't there anything you can do!? Please, help him!" Serena was shouting at him.

"I can't! Whatever is hurting him isn't physical Serena! There's nothing I can do!" Darien said, upset that there was nothing he could do for the obviously suffering man in front of him.

"There's only one place I know that we can take him to that he described! Take him to your place Darien!" She quickly managed to say to him before running back toward where she came from.

"What are you going to do?" Darien asked as he was holding up the now passed out man.

"Cover for us, I'll meet you at your apartment as soon as I can!" It was the last thing she managed to say before she turned a corner and was out of earshot.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 20**

When Serena reached the stage area she was stopped short by Mr. O'Brien standing over here. "Hello Ms. Tsukino, I was just looking for you." He glanced at her hand and noticed there was no ring on her finger. "May I inquire about the whereabouts of my son?" He asked sternly.

"Certainly Mr. O'Brien, I was actually searching for you as well. You see, when I accepted the proposal, Darien was concerned that I was pressured to say yes, but I explained that it was my choice, and not an irrational decision. Once that was clear, Darien and Reagan decided to get back as soon as possible. I told Reagan I didn't want to burden others with wedding costs, and so Darien decided to get a group together with Andrew, who is also engaged, and find out all the ways we can save money on the event."

"Am I to believe you two have already set a date?" His poker face hadn't changed.

"Yes sir, a small wedding in 3 months. Another reason why they left, he felt if he told you, you would try to convince him otherwise." She saw his poker face crack and a smile now flooded his features as he embraced her in a bear-hug.

"Then congratulations my dear! Why are you not wearing your ring?"

"I guess they left in such a hurry, he forgot to put it on me." She blushed, the more lies she told, the more uncomfortable she felt. She was getting herself in deep, but right now, she just cared about getting through the event and finding out what was going on with Reagan.

"Well why didn't you go with them my dear?!" Mr. O'Brien said with a hearty laugh.

"Well sir, I'd hate to be rude to my guests, not to mention all the work everyone put in."

"Nonsense child! Go be with your beloved, I'll inform the guests and take care of things on this end. You just got engaged! You two should be joined at the hip right now!" He was obviously overjoyed at her news. Serena couldn't believe it would be that easy to leave, but she knew she had to find the scouts and speak to them. Leaving the guests were one thing, the scouts were a completely different story.

She spotted the scouts the same place they were before, Rei with a concerned look on her face. Once she reached them she realized she had to tell Rei what happened, since she figured Reagan would be staying in her room that night, halfway back to Tokyo. They would just have to share Reagan's room and leave immediately. Rei caught sight of her and headed her way. The other scouts quickly followed Rei's lead.

"Serena, what happened?" Rei asked, still searching for Darien out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm going to have to explain later, right now we have to find my parents and leave." All the girls were now concerned, but they knew better than to ask questions in such a crowded area.

Once they found them Serena spoke quickly, she was anxious to leave. "Hey mom!"

"Serena! Are you engaged now?" Ikuko stole a quick glance at Serena's finger.

"Yes mama, but the girls want to take me out to celebrate right now."

"What? Now? But you're already at a party, what better place to celebrate?"

"I know mama, but there are so many people I don't really know. I'd rather have a private, more personal celebration." She shyly smiled at her mother as if asking permission to leave.

"But what about all of Mr. O'Brien's guest? Serena, it's best not to be rude."

"I know mama, but he told me to leave, he wants me to be with my fiancé. " She gave an honest smile. The girls were doing their best not to look confused.

"Okay Serena, then I guess I'll see you at home?"

"Yup." She said, happy she could finally head home.

"Love you sweetie, congratulations!"

"Love you too mama, thank you!" They hugged before they parted.

Once they were in Lita's car, the questions began. Rei was the first to speak, "Okay Serena, what's going on?" Serena explained as best she could without breaking out into tears. What everyone else thought were tear streaks of happiness, the scouts knew to be tears of concern.

"So we're headed to the hotel at the halfway point?" Lita asked as she sped up the car.

"Yes, I guess Rei and I will stay in Reagan's room and you two can stay in your room. I'm certain Darien will share his room with Reagan. I don't think he's going to give up on trying to heal him." She knew Darien was just as 'soft' as her when it came to life hanging in the balance.

After staying in the hotel at the halfway point and driving for what seemed like forever, they finally reached Tokyo and got to Darien's apartment. He was running around frantically trying to use different medical techniques to stabilize Reagan's condition. "How is he?" Serena asked as she ran to Reagan's side.

"I just can't figure out what's wrong with him! I can't cure something I don't know about!" he said as he put his hand to his sweaty forehead, trying to calm his dizzying headache. "I drove straight here without stopping and have tried several different ways to stop his pain, but it only seems to get worse. I'll I can do is give him sleeping medication, it's the only time he seems at piece."

Serena began to silently weep. As she did, Darien felt a tingling in his head, then a voice which made only one announcement, before disappearing from whence it came. "_It is time_."

"Damn it!" Darien did not feel unprepared, but he didn't know what would happen to the man once he left. "Serena, I'm sorry, I have to go." Serena's face shot up in disbelief and fear.

"What? What are you talking about? Where are you going?" He looked at Rei, and she gave an quick nod and turned toward Serena. The scouts just stood, watching as Darien slowly made his way out the door. All giving him a look that one would give a soldier who was just called into a losing battle. They didn't want him to go, but they knew there was no way to stop him. Rei was holding Serena back and she was confused and trying to chase after him. As soon as he was gone, Ami took over the care of Reagan, continuing where he'd left off.

Rei began the explaining of the events that Serena had missed out on. "Serena, does the name Alum ring any bells for you?"

"What? Alum? What are you guys talking about! Where is Darien going? How could you all let him just leave like that!" Rei knew Serena wasn't even trying to listen to her, she was confused and worried about both men in her life, so much so that she couldn't concentrate on anything.

"Serena, pay attention! Alum, of Earth, do you remember him from any of your visits to Earth from your days of the moon kingdom!" Once Rei mentioned the moon kingdom, Serena began to focus. She thought hard as she tried to make sense of Rei's words.

"Alum? You mean Darien's father, the King's, most trusted friend and general? I think I remember him, vaguely, why?"

"Serena, do you remember anything else about him?"

"No, why? What's going on? Why won't you just tell me?" Ami stepped in and stopped Rei from speaking further.

"Not now Rei, she has way to many things on her mind right now. She could crash at any moment." Ami said, afraid of Serena's mental state.

"No! Tell me now Rei! Tell me now or so help me I'll-"

"You'll what Serena? Ami's right. Are you even aware of what's going on right now or are you running on fumes? Face it Serena, you can't handle any more news right now."

"How the hell would anyone know that but me? I'm sick of everyone trying to shield me! Maybe that's why I found it so easy to fall for Reagan! In a lot of ways I've always felt like I was the strong one! Like I was in control! How is it that a stranger can be so trusting in me but my friends don't have any confidence in me? Do any of you have any idea what that's like?!"

"Serena, we're just trying to protect you." Lita said concerned.

"No, you're not! I've always been able to handle myself in the scout training sessions, I'm always the one who defeats the source of evils that come to plague this world, yet I'm also always the one who's handled with kid gloves all the time! I'm sick of it! I can handle things, even if you guys don't have faith in me! I may be sensitive, but that doesn't make me weak!" She had tears of anger streaming down her face, but they knew she had a point. She wasn't the little 14 year old girl they always struggled to protect anymore. She was a leader and a protector in her own right. They knew they had to accept that, and let her make her own decisions.

"You're right Serena, I'm sorry. Do you remember anything else about Alum? His children?"

"Children...hmmmmm, I think I do remember him having a daughter. Yeah, I think her name was Ber-" She stopped short and the scouts saw the shock on her face. Beryl's father? Darien went to see Beryl's father!? Why on Earth didn't any of you go with him?! Why is he going to face him alone!"

"There's nothing we can do, you don't understand the situation!"

"What's there to understand! We destroyed Beryl and now her father is looking for vengeance!"

"No, it's not that simple." Serena was awaiting patiently for Rei to explain why they would abandon whom they all considered 'one of their own'. "Look, Alum just wants Darien to take his rightful place as king. If Darien refuses, then he will try to 'conquer' Darien and assume the throne. He thinks Darien is weak, and that will be his downfall."

"I don't understand, that still doesn't explain why you guys aren't there to help him!"

"It's not our battle Serena! We weren't born here, we were Reincarnated. If we intervene, it will just add to Alum's point that Darien has made the Earth weak, to the point where he needs to rely on 'aliens'."

"Aliens? Who said 'aliens'? We're not aliens!" All the scouts put their heads down as they waited for the realization to hit her. Once it had, she felt extremely weak, as if the wind was knocked out of her. "So that's it then? We don't even fight for the planet we love?"

"We have to have faith in Darien, Serena. We can't just count him out without us. Besides, he can heal himself, remember?" Rei said with a teary eyed smile. Everyone was exhausted, and Reagan was resting what seemed to be peacefully in the bed. Ami was doing tests with her computer, trying to analyze his vitals and monitor his progress. Lita was playing assistant while Rei was keeping a close eye on Serena. During the distraction, Mina took her leave, she used her powers to follow the link of Serena and Darien's 'love connection' to follow Darien to his whereabouts.

Meanwhile Darien drove to where he could sense Alum's presents. His concern for Serena actually helping his focus. Knowing if he failed, she would be his first target. He reached his destination with little difficulty, he went as far as he could with his car, and hiked the rest of the way up a mountain toward his battle grounds. It was there that he spotted Alum, waiting patiently with the same outfit the Earth generals wore when they attacked the moon.

"Still suits me don't you think?" Alum taunted.

"You aren't worthy of soiling the Earth name."

"I believe that sentence is better suited for you, Moon lover." Alum was calm and obviously prepared. Darien could only wonder what things he learned in the thousand years it took him and the scouts to be reborn. As he stood face to face with Alum, he began to realize all of his 'followers' were coming forth, in a massive army behind Alum.

"You expect this to be a quick battle?" Darien said, unfazed by the fact the followers were there to witness the events. Darien knew he wanted everyone to see how the 'weak' leader would fail.

"Well you see, I have a schedule to keep." He said as he tapped his wrist.

"Well then, let's get this over with." Darien said, as he transformed. "I ask you one last time Alum, stand down and stop this crazy charade."

"Ha, is that fear I sense your highness?"

"Perhaps your own." Darien replied. With that, Alum attacked and the battle commenced.

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **Thank you to all reviewers! You guys are awesome!

**Special Thanks/Mention: **Sailor Rallison, inufan 155687, LoveInTheBattleField, xx Twilight Princess xx, GinnyPotter0183, Ami-chanMercury98, Lunachan90, and Swtmelody637


	21. Chapter 21 The Battle, Choices

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**The Battle, Choices and Obligations**

**Chapter 21**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"Well then, let's get this over with." Darien said, as he transformed. "I ask you one last time Alum, stand down and stop this crazy charade."

"Ha, is that fear I sense your highness?"

"Perhaps your own." Darien replied. With that, Alum attacked and the battle commenced.

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 21**

Alum was no fool, not led by rage, but centuries of experience and training. Darien had never had a foe so calmly lethal. The clashing of the swords resounded throughout their battlegrounds. Mina easily heard the sounds of battle as she made her way through the trees and up mountains. She sensed a horrible aura, filled with anger and bitterness. The closer Mina got, the stronger the aura was, until she realized, it wasn't just one aura she was sensing, it was a whole mass of people. She decided it was best not to near the people, but get simply close enough to watch the battle, without being seen.

Darien was not as close to Alum's abilities as he would have liked to be, but he was still holding his own. He was constantly getting cut, slices through his face every time Alum got close. Whenever the swords clashed, his face lost a few drops of blood. Alum would use the clash time to switch the grip on his sword and move with lighting speed to stab what he could before he had to break apart for another charge. Alum's blade was thinner, and just as sharp if not sharper than Darien's, and based off Alum's movements, was much easier to wield. Alum noticed the blood on his blade, but also noticed the lack of blood or scars to Darien's face. Even though this confused him, he carried on his attacks like a trained killer.

Darien went in knowing this was a death match. No matter what he said, he knew Alum no longer wanted to live in the world as it was. He would either live on as the new self proclaimed king of the world, or he would die, finally at peace with the rest of his family. Alum would never accept Darien winning and the old ways to continue, that much Darien knew was guaranteed. No, like it or not, this would be Darien's first kill, if he was lucky. Every time Darien was cut, he felt fear, and he fed off of that fear. Allowed it to consume him, used it as a catalyst to see and sense things he was unable to before. The way Alum's feet were positioned when he landed from an attack, the way Alum would wobble when he would lead with his left foot. The fact that even though Alum was right handed, he would attack with his left. He remembered seeing the old man with a cane the first time he saw him, maybe it wasn't just for show after all.

Mina watched on in shock and horror as Darien was continually barraged with attacks. She felt his fear growing, the strongest emotion she could sense from him at the time. She decided to focus on Alum, for fear of crying out to the weaker man. She sensed anger, bitterness, and...was that love? She pondered the thought for a moment. Yes, it just made sense! If Alum was the King's highest general, then he just as well may have also been the king's friend! Meaning he knew him on a more personal level, which meant he must have known Darien while he was growing up, even cared for him on occasion. Also having a daughter himself, in love with the boy no less, must have meant that they had frequent encounters. Mina pondered how she could use this information for Darien's advantage, however nothing came to mind. The inside track and ideas were her own, for now.

Meanwhile back at Darien's apartment Ami still couldn't find a cause for Reagan's suffering. None of her data pointed to a reason why he would be in such pain. "Serena, isn't there anything you can do? As Sailor Moon I mean?" Ami pondered as a last resort, his vitals were starting to pulse again, great stats one minute, and dipping dangerously low the next.

"I don't know Ami, but I'll try." Serena transformed quickly and summoned her scepter to see if Ami's idea had any grounds. "I can feel his pain." Serena said, as she fell to her knees. "I think the scepter is redirecting his pain to me." She said weakly.

"Serena, transform back!" Rei said, trying to help Serena out of the room.

"No! Look!" Serena pointed at the monitors Ami had set up, it appeared he was getting better, however Reagan's face began to contort as if the pain had really just begun.

"Serena, it has you on your knees! Either use your scepter on him or change back!" Rei shouted again.

"Cosmic Moon Power!" She shouted as she pointed her scepter toward the bed. Her pain subsided for a bit, but then continued full force. She tried again, but this time the pain continued, as if it was feeding off the power. "It's not working!"

"Sailor Moon, change back!" Lita shouted.

"No, it's so painful, he'll die!" Everyone turned to see Reagan suddenly sit up, as if sleep walking, and shout.

"Alice, don't leave me! Not again! I want to be with you!" Then, just as suddenly, he was laying back down in bed.

Serena took a few seconds, before she spoke what she knew. "He doesn't want to be saved. He's trying to be reunited with his lost love. He's given up." She said, as the pain began anew. The scouts were in shock at first, trying to understand what Serena was telling them, but before they could focus on that, they saw her fall to her knees once again.

"Serena!" They shouted in unison as they ran to her side.

"Let him go Serena, transform back!" Lita said through tears as she realized how helpless they all were.

"No! I can't lose him, I won't!" Serena said, resolve in her face. The girls had no idea what to do. Their only option, to wait it out.

Back with Darien...

Alum seemed more determined as the battle dragged on, while Darien seemed to be losing his resolve. Mina knew he could feel Alum's closeness with the Earth, and feared the weakness would be his undoing. Mina saw that Alum felt that he was close to victory, she did what she thought would help Darien, she made herself known.

"Darien!" She screamed. Darien himself in a world of his own, only heard a 'sound' and didn't really pay attention to it, where as Alum seemed to get distracted. He smiled widely toward the direction of the yell.

"Followers, find the woman, and bring me her head." Alum said as he saw his followers disperse, and search for the scout. Darien realized what had happened, but he hadn't paid attention. He knew the 'woman' had shouted his name, but with everything that has happened in his life, it could easily be Rei or Serena.

With no other option, he tried talking to the followers. "Stop! Your prince demands it!"

"Hah! Prince? No, the one left here will be King, and they know it. You think they are going to listen to some snot-nosed kid? Not when they have a leader with centuries of knowledge!" Alum grinned at him as his followers didn't hesitate to follow his orders.

Suddenly, Darien felt an array of emotions at once. Fear, contempt, anger, love, passion, and resolve. He'd never felt anything like it before, such a surge of pure...power. He suddenly felt unbelievably calm, seeing everything as if it was in slow motion. Sensing where everyone was stepping, where every person touched the ground, as well as who each person was. He noticed it was Mina who called his name, and manipulated the Earth to do his bidding, causing Mina's surroundings to elevate into the air, where no one would be able to reach her. Next he created a crater with all the followers as well as the battle with Alum and himself, sank several feet into the earth. "You're done Alum." It all happened so fast, Alum barely had time to react. He looked into Darien's eyes, and saw no recognition of the young boy he remembered. This was a completely different person, the man before him was a leader, a natural born king.

"Not quite." Alum said to Darien. "There's still the matter of who will deliver the finishing blow." He said, still not convinced Darien had it in him to kill a man, even if it were the only option for peace.

"I don't think you quite understand my comment." Darien said, as he raised his palm and a beautiful rosebush emerged, entangling Alum in its thorns while carrying him up several feet. Alum's eyes were full of fear as he realized the situation he was actually in. "I will not allow anyone to threaten my planet. Be them alien or earthling themselves."

"It's nice to know I'll be leaving the Earth in 'capable' hands." And with that the giant rosebush covered Alum completely to peering eyes, while inside the thorns stabbed him thoroughly, assuring he would not be back, a small puddle began to form with the bright red blood of the bush's victim.

After Darien felt certain that Alum's life force was completely gone, he addressed the followers.

"All hail King Darien!" They said as they all began to kneel.

"Arise, and obey." Darien said as he elevated the crater back to its original mountain plane that they were on. "Go back to your homes, enjoy your time there. I will summon you when needed, and you shall all be citizens of a new world. One who's capital will be Crystal Tokyo." The followers nodded and dispersed to follow Darien's orders.

Mina heard and saw everything from her perch on the elevated platform. "Can you bring me down now please Darien?" Darien did as she asked and Mina looked into his eyes as she noticed them to look different, changed, worn. "Darien?"

"I know what you see Mina, and I know why. I can't go back to being who I was anymore. I'm no longer just another person. I have been forced to take my claim as King, and as such, I cannot shield the Earth with just words or empty threats. I must protect the Earth with the best of my ability, that doesn't mean to just let you guys and Serena battle. From now on, you'll all be able to live the lives you choose. I promise it will no longer be your duty to defend the earth any longer."

"But Darien, it's not just because it's our duty, it's because we love this planet too." She said with determination.

"Well then, I'll give you all the option to be generals in my royal guard if you all want to take it." He said with a smile.

Mina smiled back, "C'mon, let's go tell the others the awesome news!" She said as she signaled Darien to follow her and headed where he had parked his car. Mina constantly glanced back at Darien on the way, and noticed his energy being drained. She tried to keep it to herself and hoped they can get back to his apartment where Ami would be able to help shed a light on his situation. "I'll drive." She smiled and gave a wink. He said nothing and tossed her the keys. He felt himself get weaker and weaker, and knew it was because all of his emotions were calming, and he was beginning to feel his body buckle under the enormous stress he had caused it to be under. He tried to look as normal as possible, but by the time they were a few blocks away from his apartment, he began to wince and groan in pain. His scars that were once healed began to reopen, just slightly. Mina helped Darien out of the car and with her shoulder, allowed him to use her as a crutch. It seemed like an eternity to Mina, for the elevator to arrive on his floor. Mina pushed the door open quickly and called for Ami.

"Ami! Ami! Please, come help!" Mina could no longer carry him and he began to slip to the floor. Rei quickly realized what was happening and rushed to help Mina carry the weak man.

"Mina, why are you with Darien? What happened? Is Alum behind you guys? Should we transform?" Rei asked, determined to protect the weakened man.

"No! Just help me get him on the couch!" She did as instructed and Ami ran from the bedroom into the living room.

"He's injured, badly. He's going to need IV's." Ami wasted no time setting up for her second patient. Mina didn't fail to notice Serena and Reagan missing from the scene, and she knew they were both still in the bedroom. She could feel Serena's love for both men on overdrive, and hoped she didn't know she came with Darien. After Ami had Darien set up in a safe enough setting, Mina asked her discretely what was going on with Serena.

"She's turned into Sailor Moon and redirecting his pain into herself. He's clinging on to life, but not by choice. I know Serena won't let him give up, and right now Darien's the one in the most danger. He seems to be deteriorating fast! What happened out there?"

"Ami he used more power than I ever thought possible, and wielded it with ease! He literally moved mountains! Shouldn't he be able to control it?! Why is it affecting him so negatively?!"

"Because he has to calm down slowly. His body needs the time to adapt to power as well as relaxation. If what you say is true, he didn't train for this. Healing minor cuts and bruises is one thing, but to move mountains! It's a power I'm sure he didn't even know he had, let alone adjust to!"

Ami became increasingly concerned, as Rei heard everything and rushed to Serena's side.

"Serena, you have to let Reagan go! Darien needs you right now! He wants to live, Reagan wants to give up!" Rei said, pulling at Serena's arm.

"What? Is Darien back? What's happened to him?" Serena replied weakly, as she turned her head slightly to see Rei's teary face.

"Serena, I don't think Darien's going to make it, you can't save them both, you're going to have to choose one now!"

**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **Thank you to all reviewers! Final chapter coming soon! Please don't hesitate to review!

**Special Thanks/Mention:** Swtmelody637, TropicalRemix, LoveInTheBattleField, GinnyPotter0183, xx Twilight Princess xx, Lunachan90, JippyJars, Kai2, inufan155687, buttaflykissesxoxo, moonangel, Marauder Megan, Ami-chanMercury98, and Kai2


	22. Chapter 22 Fate and Destiny

**Strong Destiny, Weak Heart**

**Chapter 22 Fate and Destiny**

**Disclaimer****:** I wish I could take credit for Sailor Moon! Alas, not my creation, only this story is.

**A/N: HIGHLY Recommended listening for this story;**

**CRASH-Sum41 **

**Already Gone-Kelly Clarkson**

**As I've stated before, I already had this story in my head for quite some time before I've written it, but when I heard these songs...they just matched SO WELL!**

**Previously on Strong Destiny, Weak Heart: **

"Serena, you have to let Reagan go! Darien needs you right now! He wants to live, Reagan wants to give up!" Rei said, pulling at Serena's arm.

"What? Is Darien back? What's happened to him?" Serena replied weakly, as she turned her head slightly to see Rei's teary face.

"Serena, I don't think Darien's going to make it, you're going to have to choose one now!"

**And now the continuation...**

**Chapter 22**

**Fate and Destiny**

-Reality-

"What? I can't! I don't want to lose either of them! I'll save them both! I have to!" Serena managed to say before she slipped into unconsciousness.

"Serena!" Both Lita and Mina said as they saw Serena's eyes close. They walked toward the door way when they saw how frantic Rei had become.

"Serena?! SERENA!" Rei yelled as she shook the unconscious woman sharply in an effort to get some kind of response. She knew it wouldn't work when she saw Serena transform back into herself, no longer Sailor Moon. Rei put Serena down and quickly ran back to where Darien was on the couch. She wasn't sure how to respond, all she knew was that she wanted him to live. Lita picked Serena up from where she was laying and put her on the bed next to Reagan, while Mina was making sure it was just a fainting spell, and she would be okay.

"Rei, what happened? Where's Serena?" Ami asked as she checked Darien's pulse once more.

"She's not coming, she's used to much power to keep Reagan alive, she's unconscious. She needs time to regain her strength." Rei said, knowing time was the one thing they didn't have.

"Rei, his pulse is fading fast, his body just can't recover fast enough without help. He's not going to make it-"

"Stop it! Don't say that! Serena will be up in a few minutes! She said she's save them both and she will! I may not have had faith in her before but I have faith in her now! She'll do it! I know she can!"

"Rei! Snap out of it! We're Serena's guardians! We're supposed to be protecting her! If she uses the crystal she could die! We can't sacrifice her for Darien or Reagan." Lita said, walking out of the bedroom.

"If that's what Serena chooses then I'll fully support her!"

"What are you saying?! You'd rather have Darien than Serena?! What the hell is going on with you!"

"No! I'm saying Serena makes her own choices all the time and-"

"Guys! It's...it's too late. Darien's gone." Ami said, as she still had her fingers to his nonexistent pulse.

"No! You're wrong!" Rei shouted and rushed over to his side and pushed Ami out of the way, administering CPR immediately. Lita silently walked over to Mina to inform her of the news.

"Darien no longer has a pulse." She said to Mina as Mina was constantly checking Reagan's machines knowing that without Serena's help, every second could be his last. Mina's gaze shot up to Lita as her words flowed over her as her shock took over and she just continued to work on Reagan.

"Guys! Reagan just flat lined! I'm going to try CPR!" Mina shouted into the living room as she began trying to save Reagan's life. Ami had no hopes for the two men with Serena so exhausted, and she knew the risks if Serena were to wake with them in such dire condition. Ami hoped she didn't wake until she was fully recovered, and was in better shape to take the news.

-Limbo-

"What's going on? Where am I?" Serena said as she opened her eyes to an almost burning white light. She quickly realized it wasn't a light, but somewhere familiar and strange at the same time. She remembered a similar scene when the Moonlight Knight revealed himself to be Darien. "Hello? Darien? Scouts? Anyone?" Suddenly she saw a shadow heading in her direction. "Hey! Can you tell me what's going on and where I am!" She called to it.

"Serena, it's me, Reagan. I don't know how to tell you this, but we're in purgatory, otherwise known as limbo." He said as he neared her and saw the look of shock in her eyes.

"What?! Why? How?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I just know that I was close to seeing Alice, when I heard your voice and felt you pulling me away from her."

"How do you know we're in limbo then? I can't be in limbo, I wasn't dying!" She said, as realization sank in and panic began to cover her features. "Darien needs me, you need me! I have things I have to do! I can't waste time here!"

"I know because this isn't my first time here. I recognize this place from when I was a small child, and my parents pulled me back, the same way you were refusing to let me go. Although I can say your hold was much stronger, and persistent. I didn't want to let go then, but now it's a different story. Every minute here is like a second in 'reality'. I think we pulled each other here, you refusing to let go, and me refusing to stay."

"Why Reagan?! Why do you want to leave so badly?! Do you know what it will do to your family!? To your father?!"

"My family knew my end would come before theirs. In a lot of ways it will be a blessing, not worrying or going mad wondering when it will happen. They can finally be at ease, knowing they don't have to 'wait' anymore."

"No! They will be hurt! Inconsolable! Don't you understand how much you mean to them? To me?"

_"Serena!"_ They could hear Rei call her in a muffled tone.

"What's going on?"

"It seems they just realized you're unconscious. If that's the case, you'll be back to reality soon, the only thing that brought you here was me, so now that the connection is severed, we'll both go where we 'belong'."

"No! I don't accept that! You need to come back with me!"

"Why do you care so much?"

"I care about everyone! I can't let you choose such a horrible fate! I, I love you!"

"I know. It's just not enough, I'm sorry. How can it be such a horrible fate when I'm going to be joined with the one person I cared about the most in the world?"

"Because it's not life! It's not a beginning, it's an end! You won't be with her! No one knows where you'll be! No one ever recalls a former life, you have to live and move on!"

"I can't and I won't! I've tried, put on a front for my friends and family, but eventually they all see through me. At best you gave me an excuse to not see the pity in my family's face. The worry every time I got a fever, or illness. I know it will be ruff at first, maybe even excruciating, but in the end it will be for the best."

"Death is NEVER for the best! Please, realize that!"

"You know, for the longest time I wondered why I haven't died. I asked my parents that once, and I think it freaked them out. They simply said I was meant to live and refused to talk about it anymore. But what is life without meaning? What was I living for? What was I meant for?" Serena saw she had no argument for him. He had already made his decision long before she came along, he'd only been waiting for death to claim him, possibly only for his family's sake.

_"Darien no longer has a pulse."_ Lita said to Mina in another muffled tone in their 'realm'.

"What!? No! I have to get back! I have to save him!" She searched briefly for an exit before falling to her knees and clawing at a nonexistent floor. "Let me back! I have to save him!" Reagan smiled.

"Or else what Serena? What will you do if he dies? Die too? Give up? What about your family?"

"I- No, I won't give up- but-" Tears covering her face, knowing she couldn't get back just yet, and not fully understanding what was holding her there.

"Serena, now's your chance. You can't save us both."

"Yes, I can! With the Silver Crystal I can! I'll just use my powers!" She said, determined to get back to reality.

"You would die to save us both? How would anyone 'win' in that situation? You're the only one who ties all of us together. Any one of us would sacrifice our lives for you, and that aside, the only reason we're both in limbo in the first place is because you're holding me here and not letting go, which means if you go back to reality, I will finally be where I want to be, so you see, even if you do go back to reality, it'd still be sacrificing someone."

"No! That can't be true! I can't lose Darien again!" Reagan saw the suffering in her face and was reminded of his own experience with Alice.

"You really love him don't you? I think I finally see what I was meant for. You two are meant to be together Serena. Please, let me go and find him again." After his sentence she saw a shadow forming in the shape of another person, lying down.

"Darien! I know it's Darien!" She ran to his side as quickly as possible and rested his head on her lap, although unlike Reagan and herself, he still seemed unconscious even in limbo. As he lay there, he began to slowly disappear. "Darien no! Please no! DON'T LEAVE ME PLEASE!" She sobbed shamelessly as she clutched his lifeless hand. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.

"Don't worry Serena, I may have lost my love, but I'm not going to let you lose yours." Reagan said, determination on his face as he used any and all energy he had left, and gave it to the fading soul in front of him. Slowly Darien's body became more solid, as Reagan's became more translucent.

_"Guys! Reagan just flat lined!"_ Mina's voice reached Serena as a sad smile crept upon her face. She looked at Reagan and caught him before he was completely gone, and mouthed a thank you to his fading face.

Darien's eyes slowly opened to his love holding his head.

"Serena? Where are we?" He said weakly as his eyes searching for something recognizable.

"We're in limbo, Darien, you have to fight! We have to be together!" She said as she held his hand and held it near her heart.

"Limbo? Serena, I'm sorry, I don't know if I have the strength..."

"No Darien! Don't give up."

"Serena, I'll never give up the idea of being with you, but I just don't think my heart has the strength to keep beating..."

"It's okay Darien, I'll give you my strength, I'll help you heal, just please don't give up!"

"I'm sorry Serena. I had to protect you, I love you."

"No Darien, don't leave me, No! NO!" She felt an immense energy surge flow through her body and opened her eyes to see Mina trying to give Reagan CPR.

-Reality-

"Serena, stay down, don't look, save your strength!" Mina yelled to the back of Serena as she pounced off the bed and ran toward the living room.

"It's not working!" Ami said to Rei and Rei was frantically doing CPR on Darien. "His pulse picked up slightly, but only for a moment... Rei...I don't think you can get his heart beating again."

"No! There has to be a way! C'mon Darien!" Her eyes were so full of tears, all she saw were blurs.

"Rei, move! Lita, get in there and give him a shock to his heart! I don't think I can help him if his heart isn't beating!" Serena said, frantically thinking of ways to save him. Lita looked at Ami for approval.

"Yes, that may work, but it can't be too weak or too strong. Go ahead Lita. You're his only chance at this point." Ami said, hopeful, yet unsure.

"Right!" Lita quickly gave him a shock directly onto his chest. Ami checked for a heartbeat, but no luck.

"Again!" Ami ordered. Lita repeated her action, with the same result.

"Again!" She repeated, and Lita tried for a third time.

"It worked!" Ami said happily. Serena quickly moved to Darien's side.

"Now it's my turn!" She knelt by his side and used her crystal to share her strength with Darien. The soft glow made everyone hopeful.

Mina looked toward Reagan's body as it slowly disappeared and looked to be 'pulled' into Darien himself. Apparently, she was the only one who noticed, as the rest of the girls tried to get everything ready for both Darien and Serena to be 'out for a while', she shed tears of appreciation for the man's actions, and pity for the fact he never got to live the life he wanted.

When Ami noticed his vital signs were stable, and he was out of the 'danger zone', she laid a hand on Serena's shoulder, motioning for her to save what was left of her energy. Serena understood and ceased her crystal's power, she immediately felt dazed and reached for the support of the coffee table. The scouts kept a watchful eye on them while they rested and regained their strength. Mina told Serena's mother that they were going to take her on their vacation to some hot springs and wouldn't be back for at least a week, while in reality they recovered in Darien's apartment, under the scouts close supervision. Mr. O'Brien was tired of getting the run around from Serena's friends and demanded to know the whereabouts of his son. Luckily for the scouts, Serena was finally well enough to inform him herself.

"How long was I out?" Serena asked as she put a hand to her head when she slowly rose from Darien's bed. She looked over to find Darien lying next to her, and a slow tear formed on her face as she reached for his hand, remembering the last person that laid by her side was Reagan.

"A little over a week" Ami replied, "anyone else would have taken at least a few months! It's times like this I'm extremely grateful we recover faster than regular humans." She gave a smile to Serena, and she returned the smile.

"Is he going to be okay?" She asked turning toward Darien again.

"Yes, he's recovering well, but he's not using his powers, which is better. His body is recuperating naturally, and not adding any stress to his body. However, I've also noticed his body equips itself for more strenuous situations once he's involved in this type of damage."

"So you're saying when he is injured, after he's healed, he comes back stronger?" Serena looked at Ami waiting for a reply, but Ami was caught off guard, expecting Serena to not understand her explanation and ask her to simplify it.

"Uh, yes, exactly." Ami replied, still surprised at Serena. She felt guilt flood her, doubting Serena's intelligence again. She noticed Serena knew exactly what she was thinking, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay Ami, you've been the only brains too long in our group!" She smiled at her. Just then the other scouts walked in.

"I thought I heard talking in here!" Lita said, holding some lunch for their recovering comrade.

"Now that everyone is here, Serena, we have to tell you what happened to Reagan." Mina said solemnly. Everyone's expression was pained as they were brought back to that night.

"It's okay, I know what happened." Serena replied, not wanting to relive the event, her heart feeling the immense pain of his loss and sacrifice for her.

"Do you?" Mina replied, shedding tears, once again for the brave man.

"Yes Mina, as a matter of fact, I do." Serena said, clenching her chest.

Mina couldn't let it go, she hadn't told the scouts what she saw, and she couldn't let his sacrifice go unnoted. "That's enough Mina, let her relax a little and regain her strength." Lita said, resting a comforting hand on Mina's shoulder.

"No! I have to get this out," She was crying uncontrollably again, as she had been since it happened, every time she thought about Reagan, every night when she was alone with her thoughts. "Serena, he sacrificed his life for Darien's! He wanted Serena to be happy, and instead of living and staying with Serena himself, or being joined with Alice, and finally being in a place where neither had to worry about pain or dying, he gave it all up to give Darien a second chance! He gave his life essence to Darien so that he just might pull through, and he did! Darien owes his existence to Reagan now, even though we all tried our hardest to help both of them survive, it would have been all for not if Reagan hadn't made his sacrifice!"

"It's true." Serena whispered as her memories flooded her mind once more. "He gave up his dream to give me mine." She said as she looked at Darien's sleeping form and brushed his hair from his forehead. "Mina, I understand how you feel, and believe me, I won't take it lightly. I promise, I'm not going to take Darien for granted anymore, and I won't run from the facts. I know Reagan felt like he had a purpose, and his sacrifice was his destiny, but it wasn't. He had options, and even if he didn't know or realize that, I do. I'll never stop being grateful to him."

The scouts were in shock and didn't know what to say, their silence was broken by Serena's cell phone ringing in Lita's pocket. "Hello?" Lita glanced at Serena before she spoke again into the receiver. "Can you hold on for just a minute?" She looked at Rei and whispered, "It's Mr. O'Brien again, what should I say?"

Serena overheard, "Pass me the phone, please." Serena said with an outstretched hand while the other reached out to wipe her face from her fresh tears. The girls looked hesitantly at each other before remembering not to doubt their leader, and Lita reluctantly handed Serena her phone. "Mr. O'Brien? I have to speak to you in person, will you be available in an hour?" There was silence and she got a paper and pen prepared while she wrote down an address. "Yes, thank you. See you soon." She clicked off her cell phone and looked at the scouts, "I have to get ready, this isn't going to be a simple conversation."

An hour later Serena pulled up to a building that looked like a newer hotel with several conference rooms near the lobby. She spotted Mr. O'Brien near one of the rooms, and walked over to him. Mr. O'Brien led her into the room and seated her before sitting down himself. "The building politely allowed me to speak with you here, as I have a meeting with some business partners in one hour." He obviously wanted her to get to the point. She nodded in understanding.

"Well Mr. O'Brien, I have to start with a well kept secret before I can even hope for you to understand." She spoke with all the calmness and grace as her mother, Queen Serenity. She explained how they were Sailor Scouts and how they had passed lived and though she wanted to be in love with Reagan, she just couldn't defy the love in her heart for Darien. She then explained what happened in the past few weeks, including the Ball, and how Reagan found her with Darien. She also included how Reagan had asked her not to inform his father. She stressed how Reagan's concern was focused on how he felt he had burdened his family with his health issues, even if his family had not seen it that way. Mr. O'Brien listened intently, and after all was explained, he broke down into tears.

"I knew you'd be the death of him. I knew he always felt like a burden. I just wanted him to be happy...I failed him." He slumped over in defeat. Serena didn't know what to say, she knew he believed she was the cause of his death, but she also knew he was also blaming himself.

"Mr. O'Brien-"

He held up a hand to silence her. "Please, just go."

"No sir, I can't. You have to know you didn't do anything wrong. You did what you believed would help your son. Your whole family had much love for each other, and I knew that when he would speak to me about you all. He loved you very much, and appreciated what you did for him, everything you did for him."

"But it wasn't enough." The man said, trying to gather himself. "Look, now that he's gone, we won't be staying in Tokyo, or even in Japan. I only have sad memories here. I don't want to keep in contact with you, and I want nothing to do with you or your scouts, understood?" She nodded in understanding, knowing the worst of his sadness would be in private.

"I'll go. I'm sorry." She had tears of her own, but she didn't completely break down until she was in her car. Mr. O'Brien walked to the lobby to see if any of his associates had arrived and saw her crying in her car through the large front window. He unknowingly smiled, knowing she did care about Reagan. Knowing his love for her wasn't one sided, and strong enough to make her as upset as he saw her, and knowing this most likely wasn't the first time she let her feelings for him take over. They were all hurt, and that fact made him realize Reagan knew his love wasn't one sided, and that was why he made the decision he did.

When Serena arrived back at Darien's apartment, she was surprised to find the door opened before she reached the handle. To her surprise, Darien was standing on the other side, welcoming her with open arms.

"Darien!?" She squeaked as she jumped into his arms.

"Welcome home my love." He said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Uh, we should go." Mina said as she side-stepped the couple.

"Yeah, I have to study." Ami followed close behind.

"And I have a date." Lita was next.

"I have to help gramps with the temple." Rei said lastly as she closed the door behind her.

Neither Darien or Serena said anything to the departing scouts.

"Darien, everything that's happened...I'm so sorry..." She said as she held him tighter to herself.

"Serena, I know. It's okay, just please say you'll be my girlfriend again." He said as he tilted her head up to face his.

"Of course I will! Oh Darien, I'll never treat you the way I did before, I'm so sorry! Please just tell me you won't break up with me anymore!" She said with a teary smile.

"Never again." He said as he closed the gap between them with a sweet and loving kiss.

**The end**

**A/N: **Thank you to all reviewers! You guys are awesome! Also, please let me know if you think the song fits with this chapter and how you thought it matched, especially if you can't think of what to write for a review otherwise! Please review, it gives my heart a smiley face. ;)

F.Y.I. In case it's not obvious (which I don't think it is) this is supposed to be where Rini gets her pink hair and red eyes from. The pink hair is a mix of Serena and Reagan's hair, and the red eyes are from Reagan. It always annoyed me how she didn't get the blonde or black hair from her parents so I came up with a story of why she has different colored hair and eyes. Odd story to come from such an idea I know, but I'm weird, what can I say? LOL, anyway I hope you enjoyed the story! I will edit the story (hopefully soon) and fix errors as soon as I can. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

**Special Thanks/Mention:** xxTwilight Princess xx, GinnyPotter0183, Lunachan90, buttaflykissesxoxo, LoveInTheBattleField, Sailor Rallison, inufan155687, Swtmelody637, Vanessa, Ami-chanMercury98, Doodlez1996, guest, and rosemoonangel.


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